


Two Souls

by ScorpioInk



Category: Cyberpunk 2077 (Video Game)
Genre: Breaking Up & Making Up, Caretaking, Depression, F/M, Fights, Friends to Lovers, Illnesses, Implied/Referenced Cheating, Implied/Referenced Drug Use, Jealousy, Kissing, Masturbation, Medical Procedures, Oral Sex, Slow Burn, Soft Johnny Silverhand, Suicidal Thoughts, Suicide Attempt, Tattoos, Temporary Character Death, Vaginal Sex
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2021-01-17
Updated: 2021-01-24
Packaged: 2021-03-15 18:35:29
Rating: Explicit
Warnings: Major Character Death
Chapters: 6
Words: 33,238
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/28817895
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/ScorpioInk/pseuds/ScorpioInk
Summary: Shit like this? It would get to anyone.  Johnny wasn't surprised to see V hit her breaking point, he was more surprised that it had taken so long.Suicide though? Yeah, not on his watch. He made a promise, once. He intended on keeping it.
Relationships: Johnny Silverhand/Female V, Referenced River Ward/Female V
Comments: 85
Kudos: 407





	1. Chapter 1

Kerry was talking about something, but it was only ambient noise as Johnny waited for the meds to work, for V to take back control now that the gig was done. There was no real need to bring back Samurai, but he had mentioned it, and damn if V hadn’t run herself halfway around the city to make sure it had worked out.

She had seemed excited for the idea until the date had been brought up, and Johnny had felt a sharp pain over his, hers, _their_ , heart. She hadn’t said anything, and whatever had upset her she managed to keep out of his view.

Still, he knew something was up.

Maybe it was from when he had taken control for _that_ night, the drinking, the drugs, the car accident, the women. Maybe she had second thoughts. He wasn’t sure, but he was going to ask her when she came back.

It bugged him, mostly because V was the only friend he really had now. Rogue had outgrown him, not that he could blame her. Being dead for fifty years tended to mess with things.

V, she was as close to a true friend he had. She did things for him that no one else ever had.

Johnny let his mind wander, Kerry’s voice further in the distance as the meds started to work. V’s arms felt heavy now.

Johnny could remember one of the rare nights that V slept in her bed instead of the backseat of the shit box that she called a car. He always tried to turn around when she undressed, or zap out altogether, but the longer he was in her head the harder it was for him to go anywhere.

Years of bad habits, but something about having V wearing nothing but an old Samurai shirt, one of _his_ Samurai shirts that she had found in that shitty motel room where he had given her the dog-tags, was making his skin itch. So he was pacing, looking out the window, at the TV she always left on, even when she was away from the apartment, and back again.

“What’s up your ass, Johnny?”

“Nothin’.”

“We share a brain, gonk, I can feel you’re upset about something. What’s up?”

Johnny turned to look at her, her long tanned legs crossed at the ankle as she crossed her arms under her head to look at him.

“Why the fuck do you always lay on the bed like that? You have _pillows_.”

“Because I can jump out of bed faster this way, why, does it bug you?”

“No.”

“Why’d you bring it up then?”

“You asked what was buggin’ me.”

“I did,” V confirmed, smiling a nice warm grin at him that made his chest feel all tied up, “and you just said me lyin’ like this doesn’t bug you, so what’s up, choom?”

“Just because we share a brain doesn’t mean I have to tell you everything,” Johnny pulled out a cigarette. He couldn’t feel it, but the motion was familiar and comforting.

“Johnny,” V’s voice was gentle, “did I do something?”

“No,” Johnny was quick to answer, “I’m fine, V. Leave it.”

“Bullshit.”

Johnny sighed, tossing the cigarette into space where it disappeared into a line of code, “did it ever occur to you that seeing a woman in my fucking clothes might be a bit of a fucking tease?”

Johnny didn’t look up, he didn’t need too, he could feel the shock rocket through V’s core, followed by guilt.

“Shit, sorry, I’ll change.”

“You don’t have to change,” Johnny sighed, “I forget, sometimes, that I’m not real. I get urges and shit just the same. I want a smoke, I want the drugs, and yeah, I want sex, but I can’t do _shit_ about it.”

“So…you’re horny?”

“No,” Johnny exploded, standing up and starting his pacing again, “ _yes_. Fuck, V. I just miss being touched. I miss touching things. I miss fucking eating, and sleeping, and drinking. I’m glad that I’m in your head instead of anyone else’s but that doesn’t mean there aren’t problems.”

“Hmm,” V sat up, let him pace around the apartment for a few minutes before calling to him, “come here.”

“Why?”

“Don’t fucking snap at me, Johnny. I’m trying to help. Come here.”

Johnny stalked over to the bed, standing just outside of her reach, “what?”

“I want to try something.”

“ _What_?” Johnny snapped again, she didn’t deserve it, but he was frustrated.

V reached for him, leaning forward to close the distance that he had left, and took one of his hands in hers.

“Can you feel that?”

Johnny stared dumbfounded for a minute at her hand holding his. Her tiny, delicate, _stupid_ hand that still had that fucking ugly tattoo he had done on it. It was warm and solid in his own.

“Yeah,” his voice didn’t sound right and it wavered on the word.

“Me too,” V tightened her grip and tugged him hard enough that he ended up with one knee resting on the bed, “come here.”

“What, you offering to fuck me?”

“No,” V pulled again, “just come here, lose the vest.”

“You sure you’re not trying to fuck me?”

“Johnny,” V rolled her eyes but she smiled, “please, for _once_ in our friendship don’t be an asshole.”

He let her hand go, just for a minute, to undo the vest and toss it aside. It disappeared just like the cigarettes, “what now?”

“Come here,” V held her arms open.

Johnny moved up the bed, stretching out on his side beside her, jumping as she tugged him closer so his head was resting on the curve of her breast and her arm was wrapped over his shoulder.

“Relax,” V said softly, “you’re like a rock.”

“I’m not real, how could I be tight?”

V squeezed him, an honest to god _hug_ , and Johnny swallowed at the sensation, closing his eyes.

“You feel pretty real to me.”

Johnny kept his eyes closed, listening to V’s heart, his heart, _their_ heart, pounding under his ear.

V’s hand moved from his shoulder to his hair, and she gently worked the knots from it with her fingers before scratching his scalp softly with her nails. He suddenly felt guilty for how often he made fun of her for having such long nails. At this stage, he asked her at least once a week why she didn’t just get mantis blades, but this felt amazing.

“Okay?”

“Yeah,” Johnny murmured, “how’d you know?”

“That I could touch you? Cause you smashed my face against that window when we first met. I assumed if you could break my nose and toss my pills that we probably could touch nicely, too.”

“You’ve never wanted to, before?”

“I didn’t know you were the cuddling type. You always sit six feet away from me,” V leaned forward to kiss his forehead and Johnny could feel the swirl of affection in her chest, “trust me, there have been plenty of times over the past few weeks that I would have liked to have a hug or something. I just can’t tell if you love me or hate me most of the time.”

Johnny moved his arm, wrapping it over V’s stomach and squeezing gently, careful not to hurt her with the metallic fingers.

“Night, Johnny.”

“Night, V.”

V hadn’t made it weird the next morning, either. Johnny had fully expected her to make fun of him, something, but she hadn’t commented that he was still in her bed when she woke up. She had opened her eyes, _smiled_ at him, pat his chest, and stood up like it was fucking normal.

“I’m going to shower, then I have to head to Vik’s for more meds.”

“Okay.”

“Johnny,” V hesitated for a second, “you want another night like this, just tell me.”

Johnny nodded, willing his vest back into existence and lighting a smoke.

They had come up with a code of sorts. Johnny would comment on V looking tired and instead of sleeping wherever they were, she would make the drive home and he would curl up in bed with her.

What fucked with him the most was that he knew that she enjoyed those nights, and she didn’t judge him, at all, for needing them.

Johnny always hated the switch back to V taking control. It confused his mind for a second as he got booted back to wherever it was that his mind lived in V’s brain.

V still looked rough, and that ache was still in her chest as she pushed from the bar, a bottle of tequila in her hand as she summoned the car.

“You look tired, V. Maybe the Rockstar life isn’t for you.”

“I can’t carry a tune in a bucket,” V joked, but her voice fell flat, “we’ll head home in a bit. I have somewhere I need to go first.”

V pulled her phone from her purse, cursing under her breath as she saw the time.

“Somewhere important?”

“Yeah,” V rushed into the car, driving faster than she usually did into the heart of Night City.

“Where are we going?”

“Cemetery.”

“Why?”

“See a friend.”

“Someone I know?”

“No.”

V didn’t speak anymore during the drive, but the ache increased by the minute as they got closer.

Once they finally arrived V almost crashed the car as she jogged up the steps and to the back wall, Johnny following closely behind her as V dropped to her knees in front of one of the plaques and checked the time again.

“Fuck, sorry, Jack. I didn’t mean to be late,” V set the bottle of tequila in front of the wall, “I had something come up with Johnny. Happy belated birthday.”

It was easy now that they had been sharing a brain for so long, so when Johnny probed her mind, he got a very clear picture of who Jack was.

Jackie Welles, her number one choom. Johnny had heard his name a few times before, when V was talking to someone named _Mama Welles_ , or that Misty chick, or Vik. They had spent a lot of time together before he had come along.

V pressed her forehead to the stone, “I fucking miss you, Jackie. I’ve made such a fucking mess of things, that heist, the bio-chip, you wouldn’t believe me if I told you. Johnny Silverhand, _the_ Johnny Silverhand, is in my head right now. Your fucking hero spends every day telling me what to do. I can fucking see him, and touch him, and I have gotten _every fucking friend_ I’ve ever had in trouble or killed because of it.”

Johnny could picture it now, Jackie leaning to the side in the back of the Delamain car, the light gone from his eyes. All because of the bio-chip, _his_ bio-chip. The pain that had rocketed through V’s heart when she realized he was gone for good and there was nothing she could do about it.

The same pain she was feeling now because it was her _best fucking chooms_ birthday, and she had been late because Johnny wanted to play Rockstar.

Fuck.

“I’m dying, Jack,” V whispered, “and every day it’s getting worse. I feel sick all the time, and tired, and I have everyone pulling me in all these different directions about how I could save myself, but I know it’s a crapshoot. I’m going to be in one of these boxes next to you, soon, and I’m so fuckin’ scared. Hopefully if there’s an afterlife we can meet up and I’ll tell you all about it.”

V cracked the bottle, taking a deep swig before leaving the bottle next to Jackie’s place in the wall.

“Happy birthday, Jack.”

V stood, taking a deep breath and walking back through the walls of stone, Johnny following behind without being noticed.

V paused again, placing her hand on a different plaque. Johnny could read the letters through her eyes, Goro Takemura. She only lingered for a minute before she walked back to the car, turning it around and heading toward the apartment.

Johnny materialized in the passenger seat, he didn’t say anything, but he made sure that she saw him.

V parked the car automatically and walked to her apartment in silence. She locked the door behind her, dropping the Samurai jacket over the desk chair, kicking off her boots. It was like watching a robot, Johnny wasn’t sure if she even noticed what she was doing. She pulled off her pants and dropped on the bed, curling up on her side in the fetal position.

“V,” Johnny sat at the edge of the bed, “shit, I’m sorry. I didn’t know it was Jackie’s birthday. We could have moved the gig-“

“No, we couldn’t,” V didn’t look at him as she spoke, “I’m dying quick, Johnny. It was now or never.”

“Fuck, V, why would you put on a stupid Samurai gig over seeing your choom?”

“Because it was important to you.”

“So?”

“And you’re important to me,” V reached for a frame near her headboard, glancing at it a moment before pulling it to her chest, “you’re the only friend I’ve got left.”

And then she started to sob. Not normal tears, either, full out _sobbing_ as she held the picture of her dead friend to her chest, and Johnny had no idea what to do. The ache in her chest now the only sensory output he could feel from her body as she found her breaking point and fell over the edge.

Johnny watched for a minute, stunned, and unsure of how to approach the situation. V was naïve, sure, but she was level with her emotions. He never had to worry about her crying over small things or losing her temper without a reason. It was one of her favorite things about her. As he thought about it, he wasn’t sure if he had ever actually seen her cry.

“Shit,” Johnny kicked off his boots, tossed his vest across the room and curled around her, his organic hand over hers where she held the picture of Jackie against her chest.

He didn’t know what to do, but he had nowhere else to be, so he settled in for the long haul as she fell apart.

***

It had been three days. _Three days_.

V hadn’t moved from her bed other than to piss and Johnny was starting to worry. The tears had stopped, so had the ache, but now V was just curled up in her bed not moving or saying anything.

“You need to eat, V.”

“Not hungry.”

“V, come on.”

“Not hungry,” V repeated, softer.

“You have two more hours, then you’re getting up and having something to eat.”

V didn’t answer him, just closed her eyes and ignored him.

Johnny was a big enough man to admit he was scared.

***

V shifted a few hours later, she didn’t look at him but glanced across the apartment to the door of her gun room.

She stood, staggered for a minute, and crossed the apartment, Johnny following behind her.

V reached for one of the small handguns, a small revolver, holding it in her left hand before she grabbed one bullet and walked back toward her bed.

“V,” Johnny didn’t like where this was going, didn’t like the _absence_ of emotion in V’s normally bright and happy mind, and he liked it even less when she loaded the bullet and studied the gun, “don’t do whatever bullshit you’re thinking about.”

V didn’t even glance up at him, just moved the gun from her left hand to her right, “why not? I’m dead anyway, Johnny.”

“Not yet you’re not,” Johnny kneeled on the floor in front of her, “we’ll figure this out, V.”

“At what cost? My mind, yours? My body is dying, Johnny. Faster than anyone’s suggestion is working out. I can’t eat, I feel like shit all the time. You told me to do this, remember? The first time you came around?”

“I was freakin’ out, fuck V, I wouldn’t tell my friend to kill themselves, that’s disgusting. I promised I would save you, V. I will.”

“At what cost?” V repeated, “this bio-chip, it’s cost me Jackie, Goro, shit even Misty and Vik don’t look at me the same.”

“What about that cop, River, you liked him well enough. Hell, I thought you were going to fuck him that night at the water tower.”

“You didn’t want me to.”

“What?”

“ _Don’t make me fuck a cop, V_. Remember?”

“Wait, is that why you didn’t?”

“Yeah, of course.”

“Why?”

“Cause we share this body, Johnny. I wasn’t going to fuck someone you didn’t like.”

“ _Fuck_ ,” Johnny wanted to rub his hand over his face but wasn’t sure if he should take his eyes off of the gun in V’s hand, “I didn’t know.”

V shrugged, cocking the hammer of the gun.

“What about Judy?” Johnny rushed out.

“We left her asleep in a cabin in the middle of the night. I’ve never heard from her again. It’s been weeks.”

 _Right_ , that had been because of him, too.

V moved the gun, slowly pointing it to the bottom of her chin,

“No,” Johnny grabbed the barrel, pulling it away from V’s face, “no way, choom. Can’t let you do it.”

V tried to pull it back but after three days of not eating it was easy enough for Johnny to pull the gun from her hands, unloading it before he tossed it across the room.

“You’re not thinking straight, you’re hungry, you’re tired, come on, V. Let’s get you something to eat and you’ll feel better.”

“I can’t,” there were fresh tears in V’s eyes, and Johnny felt the wave of exhaustion wash over her.

“I got an idea, let me drive, just for a bit, and I’ll get you back on track.”

“You mean do drugs and fuck whoever you want.”

“Look,” Johnny sighed, “I fucked up, I get it. You’re a lot better at this friend thing than I am, but I got an idea.”

“What?”

“I’ll take _half_. Maybe you’ll be around like I am right now. We’ll get you fed, cleaned up, and then I’ll give you back the reins.”

“Johnny…”

“No, V, _fuck_ ,” Johnny stood, pacing in front of her, “you aren’t dying in this apartment, not after we’ve come this far, it’s fucking insulting. Take half of that fucking pill and let me fucking help.”

Johnny felt the fight leave her as she snapped the pill in half and swallowed it without a word.

It took longer, probably because of the lower dose, but eventually, Johnny felt his vision shift, and V’s body become his own.

“V?”

“This is weird.”

Johnny could hear her voice but no construct appeared in the apartment, “welcome to my life.”

V didn’t answer him, but he could feel her watching as he stood and stumbled, “fuck, V.”

In the mess of the apartment, it took him a minute to find a bottle of some horrible sugar-filled drink and down it. It wasn’t enough, but it would give him the energy he needed to shower before they went out and found food.

Johnny kept his eyes away from the mirror as he undressed, turning on the water and stepping underneath it, keeping his eyes up toward the ceiling.

“If you’re going to shower properly, you’re going to have to look.”

“I’m trying to be respectful.”

“If I die the body will be yours, anyway, might as well look at what you’re getting into.”

Johnny reached over for the soap, filling his hand and rubbing it over her arms, her stomach, down her legs.

“Tits sweat, Johnny.”

“I _know_.”

Johnny closed his eyes as he brought his hands over her chest,

“Such a gentleman.”

“You’re a real fucking joker considering you were just considering blowing your brains out.”

“I’m still considering it.”

“Like fuck you are.”

V was quiet again, and Johnny decided to focus on washing V’s hair, enjoying the feeling of a shower after so long.

He didn’t bother to attempt shaving, the last thing V needed was to get her body back with cuts all over the place. He dried off quickly, avoiding the mirror again, and headed toward the closet. It took him some time, most of her pants were too big for her, but eventually, he managed to get her dressed.

“Shit, V. You need some new clothes.”

“Bio-chip makes me puke a lot; I’ve lost 20 pounds since you’ve been with me.”

Johnny grabbed a pair of sunglasses, “what’s with the weird aura in your left eye?”

“Something new, I think one of my optics is acting up.”

“Since when?”

“A week?”

“I didn’t notice at the show.”

“You were drunk, I didn’t expect you to.”

 _Fuck_ , he was the worst friend ever.

“How are you in eddys?”

“Fine, 20k in the bank.”

“Sweet,” Johnny grabbed the Samurai jacket and headed toward the door, “let’s eat.”

***

V seemed to disappear as Johnny stepped from the apartment, so he made a mental list of what he needed to do and stuck the other half of the pill in his pocket.

Food, Vik’s, maybe Clouds.

Johnny grabbed the Arch, swinging his leg, her leg, _their_ leg, over the bike.

He pulled out of the garage and made his way toward the diner where they had met River. V loved riding the bike, and it was just far enough away that she could enjoy it, but close enough that he would make it there before the meds wore off or they felt too faint from the lack of food.

He parked the bike within eyesight of an empty table and sat down, flipping through the menu.

“Any preference?”

“You pick,” V sounded disinterested, “I eat whenever I want, you’re the one that doesn’t the get time to enjoy physical shit.”

“This is _your_ mental health day, V.”

“I don’t _have_ any mental health to speak of, Johnny. You pick.”

Johnny settled on a burger, fries, and a milkshake. It was a classic and packed enough calories that she should feel better for the visit with the Ripper’s.

It was _amazing_ to eat again, and Johnny was pretty sure more than one person was staring at him as he practically licked the plate clean. V’s body feeling healthier by the second as it made use of the much-needed energy.

“Right, we should go.”

“No, you need to sit, for at least ten minutes,” V cut in, “or you’ll puke.”

“Why?”

“Bio-chip.”

“Oh,” Johnny sat back in the vinyl seat, “meds are gonna wear off.”

“Take another half.”

“You sure?”

“Yeah.”

Johnny swallowed the pill with what was left of the milkshake, feeling V disappear as the meds settled over them. Close enough to a full dose that for now, V was offline.

Johnny waited ten minutes before walking to the bike and heading toward Vik’s clinic.

***

He didn’t bother going through Misty’s store, slipping into the alley and down the steps.

“Hey, stranger,” Vik greeted from his seat in front of the TV, “haven’t seen you around.”

“Uh, yeah.”

“V?” Vik turned off the TV and looked at them, _really_ looked, “okay?”

“V is…” Johnny paused, “not good. She just about blew her brains out in her apartment this morning. I offered to take over for a bit, give her a break.”

“So I’m talking to Johnny right now? Johnny Silverhand?”

“In the flesh.”

Vik frowned, “what can I do for you?”

“V’s got something wrong with her eye, a weird light aura thing. Apparently, it’s been a week.”

“Optics might need a firmware update. Sit in the chair.”

Johnny sat, watching Vik as he gave himself a shot in his arm and walked over.

“When was the last time she ate?”

“About half an hour ago. Before that, nearly three days.”

“Three days?”

“It was Jackie’s birthday,” Johnny frowned, “she was late because she was doing some _stupid_ favor for me. Straw that broke the camel's back. She hasn’t been right since.”

“So you offered to take over to…what…fix her? Jack in.”

“I’ve never done this before,” Johnny was careful as he pulled the cord from V’s palm, not quite clicking it in far enough until Vik took it and pressed it down until it clicked.

“V told me all about your bender in her body. I have a hard time believing that she was just going to give up control like this.”

“Yeah, I know, I was an idiot. I think she just needed a break.”

“You fed her, what else have you done this morning?” Vik turned V’s face to the side, “lights out for a minute.”

It was strange, watching Vik work on V’s body from another view.

“I’ve been watching her for three days. First night she just cried, so I hung around the bed and pat her on the back. Second and third day she just…stopped. Barely moved, didn’t eat. This morning her gonk ass grabs a revolver, loads one bullet into it, and I have to snatch it from her hand so she doesn’t blow her fucking chin off. Once I talked her down I convinced her to let me take care of things. We showered, got some food, and I brought her here.”

“I see,” Vik scrolled through a monitor, “looks like this one is cracked, must have taken a hard hit. I’ll replace it.”

“Whatever you say.”

“Can V hear us now?”

“Not sure. I only took half of one of those pills Misty gave us, but I took another half after breakfast, I think she’s offline for a bit.”

“You know, she called me about a week ago. Sounded somethin’ awful. He wanted to know if we pulled the chip right now if you would be okay.”

“Me?”

“Yep,” Vik frowned and poked at the screen, “said “ _my body is fucked, Vik. I can’t make it much longer. If you pull the chip, will Johnny be okay? Could you put him in a proxy?”_ I asked her what was going on, what brought this on, and she spent a good hour telling me what a good person you were.”

“What did you say?”

“I asked her if I was even talking to V, or if it was Johnny. Couldn’t believe my ears, and I told her as much. My V has always been full of life, determined. I couldn’t believe that he wanted to die to save a shit-stain like Johnny Silverhand.”

“Thanks, doc.”

“Can you blame me?”

“No, but I don’t even remember that call.”

“She took one of my pills before she did it, so you would have been offline.”

“V never does that to me.”

“I know, that’s why she’s so sick. She’s meant to take them every day. She doesn’t, so she’s progressed faster than she should have.”

“I didn’t know that,” Johnny winced as Vik grabbed his face with a new optic in hand, “why?”

“Why what? Why should she take them?”

“No, why doesn’t she?”

“Because she likes having you around,” Vik slotted in the optic, “and V, she’s something special. You’ll never have a truer friend. She’s in your corner, Johnny. 100 percent.”

“I’m in hers, too. I’m going to get her out of this mess.”

“I hope you do,” Vik took a step back, “better?”

Johnny looked around the room, “yeah, seems it. What do I owe you?”

“Nothing, but If V asks, I charged you and you’re all paid up,” Vik started clearing his supplies, “I might have been wrong about you, Silverhand.”

“No, you’re not,” Johnny stood from the chair, “I’m a piece of shit.”

“You talked V out of suicide this morning, fed her, brought her to the doctors. Maybe she’s wearing off on you.”

“Hope so, we could use more V in the world.”

“Agreed,” Vik turned to face him and crossed his arms, “take care of her, Johnny. She’s like a daughter to me.”

“She’s my only friend,” Johnny felt like he was picking a girl up for a first date as Vik stared him down, “I want to save her.”

“Well, good luck convincing her to do anything if it means she loses you.”

Johnny sighed.

“You two talking about me?”

“Hey, V,” Johnny tapped the side of his head, “V’s back online.”

“Weird, can she hear me?”

“Yeah,” Johnny answered Vik, “she’s just another voice in here.”

“Hey, V,” Vik smiled, “Johnny brought you in for that optic. I switched it. You’re good to go.”

“You better have fucking paid him, Johnny.”

“She says I better have paid you.”

“Yep, all good,” Vik turned the TV back on, “have fun, kids.”

“Thanks, Vik,” Johnny left the clinic, nearly bumping into Misty as he opened the door.

“Oh, sorry,” Misty smiled, “how are you, Johnny?”

“How the fuck did you know I’m driving the car today?”

“Something different in your eyes, they’re sadder,” Misty pat him on the shoulder, “where are you headed?”

“Get V some clothes that fit, I guess grab some dinner,” Johnny looked up and found the sun had started to set, “then home.”

“She likes Mexican food, used to go with Jackie a lot,” Misty pulled out her phone and sent a message, Johnny felt the phone vibrate in his pocket, “this is her favorite.”

“Thanks.”

“Feel better, V.” Misty waved and continued on her way, leaving a confused Johnny behind.

“Jackie loved her to the moon and back,” V commented as Johnny made his way back toward the bike.

“You and Jackie ever have a thing?”

“Sort of, friends with benefits for a bit when I first moved here.”

“Did you love him?”

V was quiet, but the silence said everything.

“Fuck, V. I’m sorry.”

“I guess you could say Jackie is my Alt.”

“Yeah, I get it.”

***

Johnny had managed to find V some pants that fit, new shoes, and a tank top that looked pretty hot on her if he did say so himself.

Now he was waiting for some tamales, V’s suggestion, and enjoying a beer as he watched the sun go down over the buildings that made up the skyline.

“You seem happy,” V commented.

“I am.”

“We could keep it like this,” V offered, “keep taking the orange pills. Eventually, I just won’t be a voice in your head anymore.”

“Not a chance,” Johnny frowned, “are you that sure you want to die?”

“Fuck no, I’m terrified of dying.”

“Seems like all you want to do today.”

V went quiet again, so Johnny continued.

“I get it, I do. This fucking sucks for the both of us but you have the worst side of it. Don’t you think a chance of survival worth fighting for?”

“I’ve been fighting, Johnny. For _weeks_. I just want a break.”

“And now you’ve got one, you’ve got me, we’ve got beer, and later we’ll go home, okay?”

“Okay.”

***

“That was fucking nova,” Johnny stood, “I need to take one more pill to get us home, okay?”

“Yeah, see you in a bit.”

Johnny swallowed another half, getting on the motorcycle and heading off. They had one more trip to make.

***

Johnny arrived back at the apartment a few hours later, putting away the gun and locking up the ammo before taking the blue pill to bring V back.

“God, fuck,” V gripped her head as she settled back into her body, “longer you keep me out for the worse I feel when I get back.”

“I know,” Johnny gripped his own head as he popped into existence in front of her, “me too.”

“So I’m clean, you fed me, what’s next in my mental health day, shrink?”

“Get undressed, get into bed.”

“You offering to fuck me, Johnny?”

“No,” Johnny laughed, “stop being a gonk and do what I tell you to.”

V carefully kicked off her new shoes, undid the buttons to her pants, left the Samurai jacket on the chair and walked toward the bed, snorting as Johnny turned to face the other direction.

“You were me all day, are you telling me you still don’t want to look at me?”

“Being respectful, you probably need to piss, I’ve been holding it all day.

“Shit,” V half-skipped half-ran into the bathroom, shutting the door behind her.

Johnny could tell the exact moment she noticed the tattoo, the shock rocketing through his core and a crash coming from the bathroom.

“V?”

She staggered out of the bathroom, staring at the back of her hand like it held the meaning of life.

“You like it?”

“Johnny,” V breathed, affection, and another emotion Johnny couldn’t quite place swirling in her chest, “you did this for Jack?”

“I didn’t know Jack,” Johnny moved closer to V, standing beside her and admiring the work, “I did it for you.”

“It looks just like his,” V traced the flowers above the cross.

“Close, yeah. Had to change it a bit, I didn’t want the Valentino’s hunting you.”

Johnny hadn’t been prepared for V to launch herself at him, pulling him into a hug that, if he had been more than a construct, would have likely hurt.

“Thank you.”

“Don’t be weird, it’s just a tattoo,” Johnny hugged her back, anyway, “I paid for it with your money anyway.”

V pulled back, holding both hands out in front of her,” now I have one for both of my closest friends.”

“You should improve that one,” Johnny tapped the heart on her other hand, “it looks like shit.”

“I like it,” V took Johnny’s hand, leading him toward the bed, “I considered pulling the chip when I first saw it, but it grew on me.”

Johnny stumbled as V started on the zipper of his vest, “whoa, moving things a little fast there. I said I wasn’t offering to fuck you.”

V pushed it from his shoulders, “come on, Samurai.”

V dropped onto the bed, her shirt riding up just past her belly button as she waited for Johnny, showing off the extensive blackwork ink she had across her sides.

Johnny sat on the edge of the bed, pulling off his boots knowing that it wouldn’t make a difference to the bed, “maybe I should have gone for something darker, match your other ink.”

V hummed, and Johnny took a moment to feel proud of himself that he had managed to change her mood around, “I like these.”

“Good,” Johnny crawled up the bed, dropping on his side facing V, “feel better?”

“Yeah. Thanks.”

“You’re welcome.”

“Sometimes,” V brushed some of his hair out of his eyes, tucking it behind his ear, “ I can’t believe that they call you a terrorist.”

“Why?”

V shrugged one shoulder, “I know you. You might be extreme, but you’re not a terrorist.”

“I tried to blow up Arasaka.”

“Yeah, so? It’s a business, not the government.”

“Same thing.”

“Maybe,” V’s hand was moving again, tracing the muscles of his arm, “but you’re not a bad guy, Johnny.”

“Depends on who you ask, I guess,” Johnny suddenly felt like they were approaching new territory, “even bad guys have people that love them.”

“You’re not a bad guy,” V said again, firmer this time, “but you do have people that love you.”

Johnny laughed at that, “name one.”

“Me.”

Yeah, this was new territory.

“V…”

“You don’t have to say it back, I just wanted you to know.”

Johnny sighed, “it’s not you, V. I’ve never said that to _anyone_.”

“Not even Alt?”

“No.”

“Hmm,” V rolled onto her back, pulling Johnny onto her chest, “I know you love me, though.”

“How’d you figure?”

V held up her hands, showing off the tattoos.

“That doesn’t mean shit.”

She held up the dog tags next.

“Nope.”

“You took over for me today, you fed me, took care of me.”

“V…”

“It’s okay, I know you’re emotionally constipated.”

“Fuck you.”

“But I know you love me anyway.”

“You keep saying that, but you haven’t proved shit.”

“Johnny _loves_ me,” V sang obnoxiously.

“Shut up, gonk.”

“Johnny and V, sitting in a tree,” V sang louder, and as annoyed as Johnny was it was relieving to hear V in a better mood, “k-i-s-s-i-n-g.”

“If you don’t stop singing that shit I’m going to pull the chip out myself.”

V kissed Johnny’s forehead, “thanks for today, Johnny boy. I love you.”

Johnny grumbled, “Yeah, you too.”


	2. Chapter 2

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Um...holy shit. 
> 
> I have never posted, ever, and had this sort of reaction. It's been unbelievable and so amazing to wake up to. 
> 
> There are no words as a hobby author to express how wonderful it is. I seriously thank each and every one of you. 
> 
> With that - onto chapter 2. I believe chapter 3 will be the end.

Johnny didn’t sleep, he didn’t need to anymore, but instead of zapping out, he kept an eye on V as she slept. She looked healthier after a few meals, her cheeks had some colour to them and she seemed to be sleeping better.

She was really pretty, and while she wasn’t awake to talk shit to him he took the chance to admire her.

Her hair was purple right now, sometimes it was blue, and she usually wore it in a low ponytail when she was “working.” Right now it was loose and fanned out in a halo around her. She was fit, if not a little thin, and curvy, and best of all, she hadn’t gone overboard on the chrome. She was more organic than most in Night City.

It was something he had liked about Alt, too, but Alt was gone now, and V was here, fighting with him in a way that Alt never dared to.

His mind was moving onto dangerous grounds, so he distracted himself by tracing the heart on the back of her hand. The one he had put there.

“Johnny?” V mumbled, “you okay?”

“Yeah.”

Something in his voice must have concerned her, because she opened her eyes to look down at him as he traced the heart once, twice, a third time.

“What’s going on in that mind of yours, Johnny?”

“Nothin’.”

V snorted, “yeah right, Samurai.”

“I’ll miss this,” Johnny admitted, “when I’m gone. If I can miss anything.”

“You’re not going anywhere,” V held him closer, “we save both of us or neither of us.”

“V-“

“No, not up for discussion. If they can’t save me without killing you I’m not going for it.”

“You’re going to die if we don’t do something, V. I’ll take over.”

“I’m okay with that,” V still sounded exhausted and Johnny felt like shit for waking her, “but I’m not killing one more friend because of this stupid thing.”

“What am I supposed to do if I have to make a choice?”

“You’ll figure it out, Johnny,” V turned her hand over, catching his restless fingers in hers.

“I don’t want to lose my only friend, either.”

“Because you love me.”

“Fuck off, V.”

“Just admit it, you’ll be happier,” V shoved Johnny, pushing him off of her chest and rolled to face away from him, “you’re squishing my tit.”

“How? I’m not real.”

“Tell that to my right tit.”

Johnny moved, crawling over her until he was half over the top of her, face level with her chest, “I’m not real.”

V looked at him stunned for a moment before laughing, “gonk.”

Johnny laughed, too, dropping his weight onto V as much as he could, laughing harder as she groaned.

“Get off, you’re heavy,” V pushed at him ineffectively.

“But we love each other, V, we have to cuddle.”

“Johnny,” V pushed again, “off.”

“Together forever,” Johnny declared loudly, grateful her neighbours couldn’t hear him, “V and the dead man.”

“All my closest friends are dead, Johnny, that doesn’t make you special,” V squirmed underneath him, eventually managing to get on her back with Johnny kneeling between her legs doing his best to push her into the mattress, “they don’t all crush me.”

“You pretend you don’t like it, but I can feel what you feel, V, and you’re loving this.”

It was true, that feeling of happiness, affection, welling up in her chest as she tried to move him.

“Yes well, by your description you have an _impressive cock_ which is currently pressing against me.”

Oh, Johnny paused, _oh_. He had been having so much fun he hadn’t noticed his body, or what he had of a body, reacting to her, “sorry.”

“Are you...blushing?”

“No,” Johnny pushed away, sitting on the edge of the bed and willing his body to calm the fuck down.

“I think you are,” V sang in his ear, wrapping her arms around his chest from behind, kissing his cheek loudly, “I didn’t even think I was your type.”

“What’s my type?”

“Smart, for one. Both Rogue and Alt are smart as hell.”

“You’re smart.”

“Street smart, not Alt Cunningham smart. You like them natural too, right? Not much in the way of chrome?”

“You don’t have much chrome…” Johnny started to count backward from ten in his head.

“Purple hair doesn’t bug you?”

“No, purple is my favorite colour,” _five, four, three…_

“I know, that’s why I changed it from blue.”

“What?”

“You heard me.”

“V-“

“What?”

Johnny sighed, “why are you being an asshole?”

“Dying my hair purple is me being an asshole?”

“No,” Johnny pushed her off, “you’re such a fuckin’ tease, V.”

“Says the man who was just grinding his cock against me.”

“God I’ve never met someone who pisses me off like you do,” Johnny groaned, rubbing his face.

“But you love me.”

“Yeah, I do,” Johnny froze as the words fell from his mouth, “uh…”

“See? Told you. Come back to bed, I’m tired.”

Johnny swore but turned and followed her, dropping on his side beside her, “you’re such a piss off.”

“Yes, but you love me,” V rolled onto her side to face him.

“Go to sleep before I waste you myself.”

“Okay,” V yawned, stretched, and curled up in his arms, “will you be here in the morning?”

“No, you’re a bitch.”

“A bitch that you love.”

“V-“

“I’ll take us out to pancakes in the morning, you can pick what I order.”

“Fine.”

***

“Why didn’t you shave?”

“What?” Johnny shouted back, knowing full well that he didn’t need to.

“Why. Didn’t. You. Shave?” V called back from the shower.

“I don’t know the first thing about shaving, V. I have a fucking beard.”

“Good luck when this body is yours, then.”

Johnny grumbled as he paced the apartment. It was good to see her in a better mood, but something about the night before had him feeling raw, exposed, and more than slightly grouchy.

“Fuck,” V pushed from the bathroom with a towel wrapped around her, “remind me not to fire the gardener again.”

Johnny snorted, “my day women didn’t shave much of anything. It was hot.”

“Legs, armpits?”

“Most shaved their legs, but armpits and pubes were fair game.”

“Noted,” V pulled out her outfit for the day, laughing as Johnny turned when she dropped the towel, “what, I get to feel your impressive cock but you don’t want to see my impressive tits?”

“I felt them up enough yesterday.”

“Suit yourself,” V shrugged, “come on, we got shit to do.”

“You promised me pancakes.”

“Pancakes first.”

***

“What’s on the agenda for the day?” Johnny kicked his feet up on the table.

“I had a message from Vik to stop by,” V said around a mouthful of pancakes, “I have a commission I need to pick up, then maybe some side work for Regina?”

“Can we see if we can find a record player somewhere?”

“Sure.”

“If you’re feeling generous, think I could talk you into a smoke after breakfast, too?”

“If I don’t feel like puking everywhere, sure.”

“You’re in a good mood today.”

“You’ve saved my life twice now, Silverhand,” V drained her coffee cup, “the least I could do is a smoke.”

“Hey, V?”

“Yeah?”

“You’re the only thing in Night City worth saving.”

V smiled, “I love you, too.”

“Fuck off.”

***

“Hey, Johnny,” Vik greeted warmly enough it made Johnny trip.

“What the fuck, V, can he see me?”

“It’s V today,” V pushed open the gate and walked in, “way to freak Johnny out, he thought you could see him.”

“Ah,” Vik looked around the room, “where is our residence terrorist?”

V pointed in the opposite direction to Johnny, smirking as Vik said hello.

“Just fucking with you, he’s beside me,” V reached out, resting her hand on Johnny’s shoulder.

Vik looked at her hand suspended in the air, “interesting.”

“I know, it’s weird, I forget that not everyone can see him. You wanted me to swing by?”

“Yeah, just something that you brought up the other day. If we pulled the chip, would Johnny be okay?”

“Right,” V sat on the edge of Vik’s desk.

“It’s like we said before. You’d die, but likely Johnny would go back into whatever stasis they had him in before he popped into your head.”

“Not an option,” Johnny said firmly, “don’t even consider it V.”

“Here’s the thing though,” Vik leaned forward in his chair, “back when they made Silverhand into an engram, they weren’t jacking in to shit, they did it through something like a BD halo if I’m right.”

“He is,” Johnny agreed.

“So if we could jack into _you_ , just you, and save _you_ as an engram, then I pulled the chip…”

“You could have us both on bio-chips…” V whispered, “then we could…”

“Build a body and stick you both in them, yeah. Don’t get it twisted, V. You wouldn’t be the same as _pre-Johnny_ , but if I could get my hands on how that chip was made, we might be able to figure somethin’ out.”

V transferred the plans to Vik immediately, “what are the chances of this working? Vik, I’m serious.”

“I don’t know for certain, need to talk to some friends who are better at this shit than I am,” Vik’s eyes went bright blue as he reviewed the plans, “what does Johnny think?”

“It would save both of us?”

“Sounds like it.”

“Fuck, V. It’s the best option so far, and to think you said you weren’t smart last night.”

V smiled at him and for the first time in a long time, Johnny let himself enjoy the small flicker of hope that blossomed in his chest.

“What are you smiling at?”

“Oh,” V waved in Johnny’s general direction, “just Johnny.”

“He likes you,” Vik pointed to the chair, “siddown, I want to check that implant from yesterday.”

“I like him, too.”

“He seemed awful worried about you, yesterday. Said you were considering…”

“Blowing my brains out? Yeah.”

“He stopped you?”

“Yeah, it’s his favorite pastime, saving my ass. Sometimes the relic malfunctions, sometimes it’s in the middle of a fucking gunfight, I can always count on Johnny to find the nearest hotel with the worst bed bugs and he always pulls me out of it.”

“This happen often? Look up, follow my finger.”

“Three, maybe four times?” V watched Vik’s finger.

“Nice ink,” Vik commented.

“Johnny did it, yesterday after he took us for Mexican.”

“For Jackie?”

“Yeah,” V flexed her fingers and Johnny took them in his hand, trying to ease some of the pain that bubbled to the surface.

“I didn’t know Johnny knew Jackie.”

“He didn’t,” V jacked in when Vik offered the port, “but you said it, Vik. We’re all tied up together. He feels my affection for my friends, I suddenly give a shit about a fixer named Rogue who’s an _absolute bitch_.”

“Yeah, I’ve heard of her.”

“Bitch,” V repeated, “but I shot two people trying to steal her car last week.”

“This plan of yours, _if_ I can do it. It won’t come cheap.”

“Then I better get to work.”

“I mean it V, you would be looking at a half a mil just to get you both running.”

“I’m flipping you the deets for a girl named Judy,” V glanced at Johnny, “maybe she’ll help? We’ve already got one engram done, right? Johnny is sealed away. It’s just me.”

“And two top of the line proxy’s, yeah. I imagine you’ll still want to look like you.”

“I don’t give two shits what I look like, Vik. I can always change it. Keep Johnny looking like himself though, he’s been through enough.”

“V-“

“Shut up, Johnny.”

“Leave it with me, I’ll have an update in a day, maybe two,” Vik pushed back from the chair, “your optic is fine, by the way, thanks to your rocker boyfriend.”

“Thanks, Vik,” V jumped down.

“V,” Vik caught her hand, “you okay?”

“Better,” V nodded, “sorry for worrying you.”

“Johnny looked panicked yesterday, V. Don’t worry him like that again. It’s not good for either of you.”

“Yes, _dad_ ,” V rolled her eyes, “does that mean you approve?”

“Of?”

“Johnny.”

“There is no part of what is going on right now that I approve of,” Vik sat in front of his TV again, “but if you were going to have a weird connection with anyone, you could probably do worse than Johnny Silverhand. Say hi to Misty on your way out.”

“Already on it,” V waved and shut the door behind her.

“I don’t understand half of what I just watched.”

“Me either,” V jogged up the steps, “but _fuck_ Johnny. You could have a new body!”

“Yeah that’s something, can we stop for a cigarette somewhere? My brain is reeling.”

“Yeah,” V opened the back door to Misty’s shop, “Hey, Misty, I’m heading up to the roof. Wanna join?”

“Sure,” Misty called back, “be up in two.”

***

“Hey,” V smiled as Misty joined them, “random question. You know where I could find a record player?”

“For Johnny?”

V nodded as she pulled a cigarette from Evelyn’s case.

“There’s a guy in one of the markets, sells a bunch of old Samurai stuff, he would know.”

“Yeah, I know him,” V lit the cigarette and chuckled as Johnny groaned in relief.

“I can’t imagine what it’s like,” Misty said almost wistfully, “to have a partner that knows you from the inside.”

“We aren’t partners.”

“You sure about that?” Misty tilted her head in the adorable way she did when she was trying to figure out the answer to a question, “he was freaked yesterday, V.”

“I had a rough morning.”

“Yeah, I get that, but isn’t his reaction the exact opposite to what you know about Johnny Silverhand?”

“No,” V glanced to Johnny who seemed to be trying very hard to look in the other direction, “he was extreme, sure, but he wasn’t blowing up buildings to be mean. He was trying to save the average person, you know? Arasaka owns most of Night City, no one can change that but Johnny sure tried. He’s got a big heart underneath it all, he just fucking sucks at showing it.”

“See that’s what I mean,” Misty pointed to V, “I bet you’re the first person that ever noticed that.”

“Yep,” Johnny spoke from his position on the railing.

“Can I ask a personal question?”

“Shoot.”

“What’s the sex like? Having someone who can feel what you’re feeling…”

“Non-existent,” V lit a second cigarette with the first, and Johnny squirmed as he felt heat between his legs in a place that he had no reason to feel heat. It took him a moment to realize he was feeling V’s desire.

“No?”

“We’ve only touched each other for the past few weeks, he’s usually out of arms reach.”

“Now?”

“On the railing.”

“Last night?”

“In my bed,” V smiled at Misty, “being a stubborn prick.”

“Vik closed down his practice today, said he had an idea to save you, wanted time to research.”

“It’s not for sure, but it’s looking like the start of something.”

“V.”

“Yeah?”

“Good luck.”

***

“Hey, it’s the number one Samurai fan,” Karim greeted V like an old friend, “what can I do for you? We just got an original Samurai shirt, autographed by Johnny himself. It should fit you.”

“I’ll take it,” V leaned over the counter, “I need a record player, any leads?”

“Yeah, I have a few,” Karim pointed to one of his displays, “any preference?”

“Whatever you suggest is fine.”

“Great, give me a second and I’ll add everything up.”

“What the fuck do you want with a shirt that I signed?” Johnny commented as V called the car, “I could sign your tits if you wanted. I live in your fucking head.”

“Number one, other than your guitar it would be the only thing of yours that I could actually touch,” V took the box with the record player and the bag with the t-shirt and headed toward the stairs, “two, you’re scared to look at my tits, Silverhand.”

“Am not.”

“Are too,” V kicked the back of the car, the trunk popping open.

“Why not the bike?”

“We’re picking up something,” V got into the driver’s seat, “come on.”

***

“V, hey,” Claud greeted V warmly and Johnny fought the urge to punch him as they hugged for longer than was strictly _friendly_ , “just in time.”

“Great, let’s see what you came up with.”

“You had really great pictures, so it was easy, come on,” Claud led V into a warehouse, and Johnny frowned.

“You got iron, V?”

“I always have iron,” V didn’t look in his direction, “but he’s fine.”

“Here it is,” Claud waved to a cloth covering something about three and a half feet tall, “you do the honors.”

V grabbed the cloth, pulling it off with a flourish.

“Oh _shit_.”

Johnny stood dumbfounded in front of the sculpture, “that’s my fucking guitar.”

“Claud it’s perfect,” V walked around it, “fucking perfect.”

“Yeah? I needed it to be for what you were paying me.”

“Can you help me load it in the car?”

“Sure, it's hollow, so it’s not as heavy as it looks.”

The sculpture had fit in the backseat with little difficulty, and with a quick goodbye, they were back on the road.

“Where next?” Johnny sat in the backseat, looking over the guitar with wonder.

“Oil fields.”

“Wait…is this?”

“Might be stupid, if Vik figures this shit out, but yeah. I saw how it upset you, so I asked Claud to make this.”

He didn’t deserve her, he never would.

“V?”

“Yeah?”

“I love you.”

“I love you, too.”

***

“There we go,” V set the statue down over her scratched in _JS_.

“Someone’s gonna steal it.”

“Way ahead of you,” V called as she walked back to the car, opening the truck and coming back with a tool on wheels.

“What’s that?”

“Welding torch,” V pulled a mask on, “I’d say watch your eyes, but I don’t think it matters.”

Johnny watched with interest as V methodically welded the guitar down, the bright blue glow from the welding torch reflecting in her goggles as she slowly erected his headstone.

Fuck this was as weird as it was perfect.

“There,” V grabbed the top of the statue, pushing with all her strength, “unless they bring grinders, which let's be honest is a possibility, it isn’t going anywhere.”

“Thanks, V.”

“No problem.”

“You know, you’ve done more for me than anyone I’ve ever met,” Johnny sat next to the guitar.

“Rogue helped you blow up Arasaka tower.”

“I think there’s little chance that Rogue wasn’t bought out by Arasaka right after that…”

“Yeah, I wondered that, too. What about Kerry?”

“I treated him like shit. I got a lot left unsaid to him.”

“Want another day? We could swing by…”

Johnny did, more than anything, “no, better to leave some things in the past.”

V jumped as her phone started to ring, “huh, speak of the devil.”

“Kerry, or Rogue?”

“Kerry,” V pressed the button to answer, “hello?”

“Hey, V? Or is it Johnny?”

“It’s V,” V moved to sit beside Johnny. She didn’t need to, he could hear through her ears, but it was a habit, “if you want Johnny you need to book ahead of time, so I can take the meds. He can hear you though, what’s up?”

“I need to speak with both of you, actually. My manager called this morning, she wanted to talk about the gig.”

“Okay…”

“She wants to sign Samurai, remaster the old albums.”

“Shit,” Johnny lit a cigarette and leaned against the guitar, “how? I’m dead.”

“Johnny…well he’ll never sound like _Johnny_ while he’s in my body. He’s stuck with my voice for as long as he’s in here. Sure, he can play the guitar but I don’t know if I would survive the meds if I had to take them while you recorded. That’s if Johnny would even go for being signed, he fucking hates corpo rats.”

“I know,” Kerry laughed, “trust me. I was one of the last people who saw him before the Arasaka tower. They’re offering a lot of scratch though.”

“How much?” Johnny asked, smirking as V asked at the same time.

“Million eddys, each.”

V whistled, “shit, I’d have to work for fucking years to get that.”

Years, Johnny mulled the word over, _years_. They needed half a million eddys to get these proxy’s ready if it would even work. He tried to picture how long it would take for V to pull that kind of money together, he looked at the bruises under her eyes and wondered if she would make it that long.

“Ask him when we would start recording.”

V shot him a look but repeated the question.

“Next month,” Kerry answered, “why?”

“We need half, upfront,” Johnny crossed his arms over his chest, “or no deal.”

“Johnny says we need half upfront,” V looked at him quizzically, “or no deal.”

“Half a mil? Let me call them and I’ll get to you.”

“Okay…” V hung up the phone, stared at him for a moment, then punched him, hard, in the arm.

“What the fuck was that for?” Johnny jumped away from V, rubbing his shoulder, “I already have _one_ silver hand, I don’t need two.”

“What the fuck are you doing?” V exploded at him, “Johnny fucking Silverhand isn’t a sell-out. I can work for the eddys.”

“Johnny fucking Silverhand is a piece of shit who abuses his friends,” Johnny shot back, “he takes, and he uses, and he fucking manipulates everyone who gives a shit about him. I’m not doing that to you, V. If I can pay for the fucking proxys I will.”

“You can pay for _half_. Why would you pay for mine?”

“Because you fucking _matter_ , V,” Johnny circled back to her, practically shouting in her face, “you lost all of your friends? Well, guess what, princess, I lost mine, too. Not you.”

Johnny felt himself deflate as V looked at him, “you know, I hate those fucking sunglasses.”

“What?”

“You use them as a shield, so I can’t see what you’re feeling. The only time you’re being honest with me is when you take them off.”

Johnny pulled them from his face, tossing them aside, “I’m won’t lose you, V. If that means I have to sell out, play guitar, I will. Once we have our proxys I’ll bomb the studio and it’ll be fine.”

“Can I help?”

“What?”

“Bomb the studio.”

“Yeah, of course.”

“Okay,” V linked her fingers with his, “if you’re sure.”

“I’m not sure about anything,” Johnny pulled V against his chest, wished for a moment they were somewhere else, and kissed her forehead, “I’m sure about you.”

“I knew you loved me.”

Johnny rolled his eyes, huffing out a laugh, “you don’t know the half of it, princess.”

“I think I do,” V pulled back, just enough to kiss his jaw, “pretty sure we’re on equal footing there.”

 _Fuck_ , Johnny sighed, he was screwed. This girl had him, hook, line, and sinker.

“Johnny?”

“Yeah?” Johnny leaned forward, flinching as the phone rang in V’s hand just before their lips met.

V growled, bumping her head against his chest, “your friends are fucking cockblocks.”

Johnny laughed, “we have time.”

“I fucking hope so, I still need to see that _impressive cock_. Hey, Kerry, what’s up?”

“Spoke with the woman in charge, she’s not sold unless we can get her something in the way of promotional material. Pre-sales and shit, right?”

V took a step back, “marketing, what, like pictures?”

“Something, any ideas?”

V turned to face the guitar, a small smile crossing her face, “you know what, yeah. Give me ten minutes and I’ll send something, okay?”

“Uh, sure.”

V hung up the phone and pulled off her jacket.

“What are you up to now?”

“You wanted to sell out, so we sell out,” V carefully hung the jacket from the top of the guitar, angling it so the Samurai logo faced them, “I used to love taking pictures of shit when I got to Night City, it all seemed so alive compared to the badlands. Haven’t done it in years, though.”

“Okay…”

“Fuck, I wish I could get you in this shot,” V took a step back, “steel guitar, your jacket, you looking over the corporate wasteland of the oil fields. It would be perfect.”

“I’m not seeing what you’re seeing, V.”

“You will. Hang on,” V dropped to one knee, pulling out her phone and snapping off a bunch of pictures, checking each one as she did, “bingo, come check this out.”

Johnny looked over her shoulder, “shit, V, missed your calling.”

The picture was incredible, V had captured his headstone, the logo, the vast oil fields with the sun setting over them.

“What do you think?”

“Perfect. Samurai reborn.”

“Oh I like that,” V sent Kerry the message, “I’ll pitch it as the album name. Guess we’ve got nothing to do but wait.”

“Oh, we have things to do,” Johnny wrapped his arm over V’s shoulder, “come on, princess. Take me home.”


	3. Chapter 3

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Sorry, I lied. Next chapter will be the last one!

“What time is it?”

“I don’t know,” V struggled to pull out her phone as she drove, “maybe 7?”

“Stop for something to eat, first.”

“Any preference?”

“Don’t care, just want you to eat.”

“Hmm,” V hummed but turned the car off at the nearest exit and toward a local burger shop.

“What?”

“Mother hen all of a sudden, Johnny.”

“Things change,” Johnny looked out the window, “would be stupid if I didn’t change, too.”

“Hey,” V reached for his hand, tugging gently, “you okay?”

“I suddenly feel old as shit, V.”

“You are old as shit, Johnny,” V parked the car, “lucky for you I like older men.”

“Shut up, princess.”

***

“I’ve never been monogamous.”

V glanced up at Johnny mid-bite of her sandwich, “okay?”

“I don’t know what we’re doing, I don’t know if we’re doing anything, but I’ve never only fucked one person at a time.”

“Okay,” V said again, lowering the food from her lips, “guess we’re talking about it. Do you want to be a thing?”

“Yes,” Johnny tossed his sunglasses onto the table, “I just don’t know if I can.”

“I hate to tell you that I’ve got dibs on you right now,” V tapped the bio-chip with her finger, “so the impressive cock is mine. You want that to change when you have a body again, we can figure it out.”

“What if…” Johnny leaned forward, “what if I hate it? What if I get sick of wakin’ up next to you?”

“What if you don’t?”

“That’s even scarier,” Johnny lit a cigarette.

“This is what I propose,” V sat back in the chair, absently aware that she probably looked like someone who was coming down from a high as she looked at the empty seat opposite, “keep shit casual, then after a month of you being in your own body, we decide what we’re going to do.”

“Why?”

“Because I’m not convinced these feelings are real,” V pulled a fry from her plate, “we share a body, we share emotions. There is a _chance_ that one of us is sweet on the other, but the feelings are just one-sided, and things are getting messy, _shared_ when they shouldn’t be. I’m not looking to be Mrs. Silverhand the second you have a body, babe. I understand that you have 50 years of living to catch up on.”

Johnny looked out the window and rubbed his beard absently, “how do you know that you know that I won’t go back to my old ways?”

“I don’t.”

“Doesn’t that scare you?”

“Yep.”

Johnny studied V from across the table, “why are you so calm about this?”

“What am I supposed to do? _Hey, Johnny, marry me?_ Come on, we went from trying to kill each other to best friends over a few weeks. I’m not stupid enough to assume it’s always going to be perfect. I’ll just be happy if we both make it out alive.”

“Even if we aren’t together?”

“Yep.”

“Why?”

“I’ll know you’re safe,” V shrugged, “if that has to be enough, it’ll be enough.”

“You’re fucking weird.”

“Yeah, I know.”

“Thanks,” Johnny scratched at the table, “for today.”

“You’re welcome,” V took her sandwich back in hand, “we’ll figure it out. We’ll stay friends.”

“Promise?”

“Promise. I have to help you bomb the studio, anyway.”

***

“Fuck, V, be gentle with that shit, it’s original.”

“Yes, babe, I know, but it might surprise you that most people born _after_ 2030 didn’t touch record players,” V had made room on the small table by the window and was carefully putting the arm down on the vinyl they had found from Karim previously, “there, loud enough?”

“That’s the good shit,” Johnny stretched out on the couch, “wish I could have a drink and a pretty girl sucking my cock right now and life would be perfect.”

“I can help you with one of those things, two if I take some meds,” V called to him as she disappeared into the bathroom.

“Oh, right, I’ve already got a pretty girl here,” Johnny set his sunglasses aside.

“Glad you remembered,” V called from behind the door, “asshole.”

Johnny chuckled, closing his eyes and enjoying the music, “have a cigarette when you come out.”

“What’s the magic word?”

“Come on, V, don’t make me beg.”

“Maybe I like you begging,” V’s voice was closer as she walked from the bathroom toward the couch, cigarette halfway to her mouth, and Johnny noticed she had changed.

She was wearing the shirt she had bought from Karim earlier. Johnny could remember signing them, it was a limited run that Kerry had insisted they sell outside of one of their gigs, and he had ridden Johnny for days until he promised to get him wasted if Johnny would sign a few.

Whoever had bought it had cut the sleeves off, leaving the sides of the shirt mostly open, and yeah, V wasn’t wearing a bra. The sides of her tattooed breasts threatening to slip from the shirt as she brought the lighter up to her mouth.

Her pants were gone, too, just a small pair of black panties that barely covered anything. Johnny watched as she pulled the elastic from her hair, shaking the purple waves around her shoulders as she kicked one of her feet up to rest on the coffee table.

That _fucking shirt_ , Johnny wanted to rip it off of her. His fucking signature was sitting right over her tit. It was like he had carved his name into her, claimed her as his.

 _In a way_ , Johnny mused, _guess I have_.

“Cat got your tongue, Samurai?”

“You’re a fucking tease, V.”

“So?”

“When you’re done that cigarette,” Johnny sat up looking V in the eye, “I’m going to fuck you until you don’t know your name.”

“Promise?”

Johnny groaned as he felt a mix of heat and desire from V and the ache of being hard in tight leather pants, “fucking _tease_.”

V made a show of taking a long drag from the cigarette, her painted lips wrapped around the filter as Johnny watched, “when was the last time you got laid, Johnny?”

“Long fucking time ago.”

“You sure you want that first time to be with me? You don’t want to wait for the proxy? Go and fuck Rogue?”

The thought made him uneasy, “I don’t want to fuck someone who’s in bed with Arasaka.”

“Do you want to fuck me?”

“Yes.”

“Before the proxys?”

“ _Yes_.”

“It might not work,” V put the cigarette out, “we might be pushing things further than the chip can take.”

“We could die tomorrow,” Johnny countered, standing and offering V his hand, “I don’t wanna go without knowing you like that.”

“Like what?”

“Inside and out.”

“Babe,” V took Johnny’s hand, “you already live inside my heart, how much closer can we get?”

“Let me show you.”

“Okay.”

Johnny couldn’t think of the last time he fucked someone when he was sober, his mind clear as he walked backward toward the bed with V following him. Suddenly V was laughing.

“What?”

“I can’t do that,” V pointed to where Johnny’s legs were standing through the bed, “why don’t you stretch out and I’ll join you?”

Johnny winced, _okay, weird,_ and sat cautiously, pulling his legs from within the mattress to lay on top of it. When he felt sure he had the spacing right, he nodded to V.

“Relax, Silverhand,” V crawled over him, straddling him easily.

Probably looked weird, had someone walked in. V kneeling on the bed and talking to herself.

But here, right now, Johnny was _sure_ he could feel her weight across his hips, feel the soft skin of her thighs under his organic hand.

“You look pretty up there, V.”

“I look pretty everywhere, asshole,” V leaned forward, _finally_ bringing their lips together for the first time.

Johnny groaned, louder than he intended, when V brushed her tongue against his. _Shit_ , Johnny let his hands travel from V’s thighs to her ass, _she can kiss_.

“Stop thinkin’, gonk.”

“I’m not thinkin’ about nothin’, princess,” Johnny kissed her again, tangling his silver hand in her hair, “don’t stop.”

The sound of V’s phone ringing made them both jump, V glancing over her shoulder with a scowl.

“Leave it,” Johnny growled using his grip on her hair to pull him back down.

“You don’t get it,” V kissed his nose, “with the implants we’ve got, it answers itself.”

V’s eyes went bright blue as the call picked up.

“V?”

“Hey, Kerry,” V pushed back, sitting up on Johnny’s lap, and rolled her hips, a smooth grind against his cock as she spoke, “what’s up?”

“Johnny…around?”

“Mmhmm, a little bit occupied but he can hear you,” V captured Johnny’s hands in her own, pinning them to the bed about his head as she rolled her hips again, “what did you need?”

“Boss loved the picture, and the album name.”

“Good news,” V smirked as Johnny swore, “but?”

“She wants more pictures, one of just that guitar, whatever it is.”

“Johnny’s headstone.”

“Oh, I didn’t know he had one.”

“He didn’t, I had it made for him. I’ll send you the address if you want to visit it.”

“Yeah, sure.”

“I can head out there tomorrow, I’ve got my hands full right now.”

“Get the fuck off the phone,” Johnny growled, “now.”

“What’s…uh…Johnny up to? Any chance I could talk to him?”

“I’ll have him call you tomorrow, he’s busy right now.”

“Oh, okay.”

V and Johnny both paused when they heard the tone Kerry’s voice took.

“You okay, Kerry?”

“Fine, yeah, just missing my friend, I guess. It’s stupid, he’s been dead for years. I’m just…”

“Lonely?” V supplied, “I get it. Do you need me to come over?”

Johnny sat up, keeping V in his lap as he listened.

“Why would you come over? You don’t even know me.”

“It’s hard to explain,” V rested her forehead against Johnny’s as she spoke, “Johnny is sort of overwriting me, so his friends feel like _my_ friends.”

“What does that mean?”

“It means I love you a whole lot,” V smiled as Johnny pinched her thigh, “so does Johnny, so if you need me, or him, tonight, I’ll take a pill and head over.”

Kerry was silent on the phone and Johnny felt a vague sense of panic bubble up in his chest.

“He was gonna off himself recently,” Johnny whispered.

“Kerry?”

“Sorry,” Kerry sounded close to tears.

“I sat in my living room this week with a gun to my chin,” V said softly, “I get it, Kerry. Two of my closest friends died in the past month. I know what it’s like to be alone.”

“Sucks,” Kerry sniffed, “after Johnny left, it all just fell apart.”

“If Johnny is anything it’s the glue that holds a family together.”

Kerry laughed, watery and weak, but still a laugh, “you know what I mean.”

“I do,” V ran her hands through Johnny’s hair, “I’m crazy about him. Tell you what, you need me to drop what I’m doing, come over right now, I’ll get on my bike and come. If not, I’ll swing by tomorrow morning, I’ll pick you up, and I’ll take you to the guitar, okay?”

“Yeah, okay.”

“But if I come tomorrow and you’re not waiting for me by the door I’m gonna be pissed, right? Even if he’s in my head and you _know_ he’s never gonna let you live it down if you off yourself.”

“No, he wouldn’t.”

“So, date tomorrow morning?”

“That would be the first date I’ve ever had with a chick,” Kerry sounded slightly better and Johnny let out a sigh of relief, “what time?”

“10?”

“Deal.”

“See you then, Kerry. Anything changes, you call me, okay?”

“I will.”

“Promise?”

“Yeah.”

“See you then,” V disconnected the call, kissing Johnny’s forehead, “he loves you.”

“Kerry loves everyone,” Johnny sagged against V’s chest, “thanks for doing that.”

“No problem. Kinda killed the mood though, huh?”

“A bit,” Johnny kissed the side of V’s neck, “we can start over.”

V laughed as he threw her against the bed, crawling over top of her with a grin.

They both froze as the phone rang again.

“Kerry?”

“V…”

“I’m coming.”

***

V had made it out the door in record time, only slightly delayed when Johnny insisted that she put on a bra and V had the thought to shove some pills into her pocket.

“Slow down,” Johnny called to her as she weaved the Arch through traffic, “you’re no good to Kerry dead.”

“I’m a nomad, Johnny, I’ve been riding a bike since I was eight,” V leaned the bike hard to her right, cutting off a truck as she took the turn toward the winding road that would take them to Kerry’s estate, “what do you think the chances are that he remembered to deactivate that robot?”

“Slim to none.”

“Great,” V left the bike outside the gate, trying the intercom, “Kerry?”

“No time to waste, V, get over the gate.”

“On it.”

Johnny wasn’t a fan of chrome, but it was always fun to watch V double jump over anything that stood in her way, landing easily and striding toward Kerry’s house.

It was just downright _sexy_ when she pulled his gun from her belt and shot the head off of his security mech and opened the front door like she lived there.

“Kerry?”

“Upstairs,” Kerry’s voice called back to them.

V took the stairs at a jog, finding Kerry in his bedroom sitting on the edge of his bed with a gun in his hands.

“Hey,” V walked around the bed, kneeling on the floor in front of him, “fast enough for you?”

“Pretty good,” Kerry kept his eyes on the gun rather than V, “just in the nick of time, I’d say.”

“Exactly, so you don’t need this anymore,” V carefully pulled the gun from Kerry’s hands, unloading it and setting it aside, “and I need one of these.”

“V, wait,” Johnny protested as V swallowed one of the orange pills, “what the fuck.”

“Sorry, sweetheart,” V sat beside Kerry has the meds started to take effect, “you have things left unsaid, he needs a friend.”

“I thought we were a team,” Johnny sighed as V disappeared and he looked down at her hands, “bitch.”

“Johnny?”

“Yeah, V has left the building.”

“Oh,” Kerry shifted in his seat, “hey.”

“What’s going on?”

***

“So, what’s going on with V?”

“What do you mean?”

“You seem different now,” Kerry poured them both a drink, “calmer.”

“Her body is dying, I can’t be reckless.”

“Yeah, but why do you care?”

Johnny downed the drink in one go, “I’m fucking crazy about her.”

“Yeah? Like Alt?”

“Blows Alt out of the water.”

“Oh shit,” Kerry laughed, “love?”

“No.”

“You sure?”

“No,” Johnny snatched the bottle from Kerry’s hand.

“Shit,” Kerry grabbed another bottle and gestured for Johnny to follow him, “Johnny Silverhand in love?”

“Listen,” Johnny sat next to Kerry on the couch, “you know all about how I ended up in here, but you don’t know _her_. I fucking smashed her face against a window when we first met, and since she has made friends with Rogue, killed Grayson, and fought, every fucking day, to save me. Not her, me. It took me a while to figure it out, but every question she asked about taking out the chip would be followed up with a question about if _I_ would be okay.”

“So?”

“Who was the last person who cared about me? Not what I could get them, _me_.”

“I don’t know…”

“You,” Johnny shoved Kerry on the shoulder, “just you.”

“All this running around, has she figured anything out?”

“Yeah, that’s why I agreed to this stupid recording plan. Listen to this shit…”

***

“Well, this is unexpected.”

Johnny glanced around the room as he heard V’s voice, “where are you?”

“In your head, our head. I think the better question is why are you cuddling with Kerry?”

Johnny glanced down at Kerry’s head where it was curled up against his, _her,_ chest, snoring softly, “he crashed on me.”

“Feel better now that you got to talk?”

“Yeah,” Johnny frowned, “wish you hadn’t ditched me.”

“I didn’t ditch you, babe, I gave you a chance to talk to your friend _alone_. It’s only been a few hours.”

Johnny thought back to their conversation and found that he was actually grateful that he had been able to talk to Kerry without V listening, “thanks, V.”

“Yeah, well don’t thank me yet, I might puke on him in a few minutes.”

“You’ll be fine,” Johnny winced as he felt his limbs get heavy, “ready to take over?”

“Yep.”

V took a few deep breaths as her body was hit with a wave of nausea as she slipped back into control, “fuck.”

“Don’t puke on him,” Johnny sat next to V, “he gets real pissed if you do.”

“I bet.”

“I know you don’t really know him, but uh, don’t kick him off okay?”

“I got you, Johnny. Don’t worry.”

***

They were fucking adorable. Johnny couldn’t help but smile as V carded her fingers through Kerry’s hair, half asleep half awake as the sun started to rise through the windows of Kerry’s house.

“You didn’t have to hold him all night.”

“It made me feel better when you held me,” V turned to look at him and Johnny felt uneasy at the deep shadows under her cheekbones, “though I’ll admit to being a bit pissed that I missed out on the impressive cock.”

Johnny chuckled, kissing her forehead, “we’ve got tonight.”

“I’ll swing by Vik’s on the way home and ask him to take out my phone implant. Then I’ll shoot the phone.”

“Sounds like a plan, princess.”

“Johnny?” Kerry mumbled as he started to stir.

“Sorry,” V kept her fingers moving through Kerry’s hair, “just me. I can’t keep taking those pills, they make me sick.”

“You, uh, want me to move?”

“No rush, Johnny’s next to us, you just can’t see him.”

“Did he tell you what we talked about?”

“No.”

“Can you…remember it?”

“If I tried, probably, but some memories are meant to be Johnny’s, and some are mine. I’m not going to pry if that’s what you’re worried about.”

“I can see why he likes you,” Kerry sat up pulling his robe tight around him, “I’ve been friends with Johnny for years and he’s never talked to me about a girl other than Alt.”

“Hard to not talk about the person you’re sharing a body with.”

“Nah, it’s different.”

“I’ll let you know a secret,” V sat up and stretched, “he only likes me cause I can reload his gun the same way he did.”

“Bullshit.”

V pulled Johnny’s gun from her belt, the motions automatic as Johnny and Kerry laughed.

“That’s hot, V.”

“Yeah, I could see him liking that. Can we still head out to his headstone?”

“You bet.”

“I’ll treat you to breakfast.”

“Sounds like a date,” V stood and stretched, “let’s go.”

***

“So, this is a date with a girl.”

“Tell him not to get comfortable,” Johnny grabbed V’s thigh under the table.

“Johnny says don’t get comfortable.”

Kerry laughed, “I’m not looking to steal your girl.”

“Better not,” Johnny frowned.

“Easy, babe, I’m all yours.”

“Excuse me, are you Kerry Eurodyne?”

V and Kerry turned to find a young man standing near their table.

“Uh, yeah, hey.”

“Can I get a picture?”

“Sure,” Kerry stood, “V?”

“No problem,” V held up her phone, “say _fuck Arasaka_.”

Johnny laughed as V took the picture, sending it to the guy and sending him off with a wave.

“Sorry,” Kerry flushed, “they don’t do that much anymore.”

“You’re important to a lot of people, Kerry. Not just Johnny and I. Come on, let’s go to the oil fields.”

***

“Wow,” Kerry walked around the guitar and admired the sculpture, “how much did this set you back?”

“10K.”

“Fucking shit, V,” Johnny pushed her shoulder, “we could have used that for the proxys.”

“I ordered it for you _before_ we had the plan for the proxys.”

“What was that?”

“What?” V sat on the nearby box.

“You swayed just now.”

“Johnny pushed me because I spent _my_ money on this.”

“Well tell him I’m pitching for half. Neat though, that you can touch each other.”

“Yeah, I think we forget that other people can’t see it though, so most people in Night City just think I have a serious drug issue.”

Kerry snorted, “why did you put it in the oil fields.”

“Because that’s where they buried him,” V pointed to the ground, “right under your feet.”

“Shit,” Kerry jumped backward, “why here?”

“Hmm,” V shrugged one shoulder, “if you take his fame you take away the power behind his motives, right? There’s nowhere for the extremists to meet, the future Johnny Silverhand’s to come and build momentum.”

“Shit,” Johnny sat beside V, “didn’t think about that.”

“Your, _his_ , music was a manifesto, but I don’t know if many people _got it_ , ya know?”

“You’re probably right,” Kerry sat next to V, Johnny glitching as he did, “what are you smiling at?”

“You just sat on Johnny,” V glanced to her left as Johnny reappeared.

“Your idea, the proxys, do you think it’ll work?”

“No idea,” V pulled out her camera and started taking pictures of the guitar, “I think Johnny will be easy, right? We already have his engram, it’s going to be if we can get _my_ engram into a body making one with the plans we have while my brain is damaged from being shot and Johnny overwriting me.”

“Sounds like a big _if_ , V.”

“It is.”

“Aren’t you scared?”

“Yep. Go stand by the guitar.”

“Why are you so calm about this?” Kerry let V push him into a pose.

“I’ve been dead since Deshawn shot me in the head,” V snapped off more pictures as Johnny watched, “every day I’ve had since is because of Johnny. I don’t want to die again, but I’m aware it’s a very real possibility. No point avoiding the future just because the future is ugly. Think my jacket will fit you?”

“Maybe?”

‘Try it,” V passed it to him, “the trick will be to release one picture a week, first of just the jacket and guitar, then you, then we get the rest of the members. All goes well, Johnny gets his proxy, he’s the last picture as a huge _fuck you_ to Arasaka. They’ll realize that not only did their tech get out of their hands, but he’s walking around Night City.”

Kerry chuckled, “he’s wearing off on you.”

“No doubt, but I grew up listening to Samurai. My clan were big fans. I’ve been listening to Johnny since I was young.”

“You never told me that,” Johnny crossed his arms over his chest.

“I had your poster in my tent,” V said out loud for both Johnny and Kerry, “my sister was so in love with you, Kerry. You have no idea.”

“Really?”

“Think about it, nomads hate the corpos too. That’s why we leave the city. Samurai would be exactly what we’re into.”

“Damn,” Johnny laughed, “who would have thought?”

“What does Johnny think about that?”

“He’s laughing his ass off over there,” V gestured to Johnny, “I’ll send you the pictures, hang on.”

“When will you know about the proxys?”

“End of the week, I hope. If we get the money.”

“If they won’t advance the money, I’ll pay for it.”

“Kerry…”

“I mean it.”

“Say thank you,” Johnny prompted.

“Thank you, Kerry.”

“One condition.”

“Okay…”

“I want to be there when Johnny wakes up.”

“Johnny?”

“Fine by me.”

“Deal.”

***

“Home sweet home,” Johnny called out as they walked into the apartment, “any news from Vik?”

“It’s only been a day,” V rolled her eyes, “chill.”

“So what are the plans for tonight? Party, work?”

“Rest,” V pulled off her jacket and stumbled to the bed, “I don’t feel well. Those meds are starting to fuck me up.”

Now that she had said it, Johnny could see it. She was pale and the bags under her eyes were dark, “nap?”

“Yeah,” V kicked off her boots and her pants, crawling onto the bed and dropping onto her side, “sorry, not very interesting.”

“Don’t worry about it,” Johnny sat on the edge of the bed, one of his hands on her ankle, “rest up.”

“Get over here and cuddle me, gonk.”

“Fuckin’ ball and chain, I tell ya,” Johnny complained, but shed his vest and curled up around her.

***

“V,” Johnny shook her shoulder gently a few hours later, “your phone is going nuts.”

“So?” V rolled over in his arms, burying her face in his neck.

“It could be important.”

“Could be the Bartmoss Collective, too.”

“V…”

“Give me a second to wake up, and I’ll check,” V wrapped her arm around his waist, stroking the skin of his back gently.

“Could be Vik?”

“Could be.”

“Could be Kerry.”

“He’d call.”

“What about Judy?”

“She’s not likely to message me.”

“Rogue?”

“Fuck,” V rolled away from him, sitting up and reaching for her phone, “fuckin’ nag.”

V opened her phone, scrolling through the messages.

“Well?”

“Transfer from Kerry, half a mil, as promised.”

“Nice, anything else?”

“Vik asking that we come by tomorrow.”

“Good news?”

“It says, _V – come by tomorrow morning_.”

“What does that mean?”

“It means you woke your girlfriend up for something that could have waited,” V pulled out a cigarette, lighting it and looking at him in the neon light that came through her window, “your _dying_ girlfriend.”

“Call him.”

“We can wait until tomorrow, it’s the middle of the night.”

“V-“

“Johnny, be patient.”

Johnny grumbled, standing up and pacing, “he could have the answer, V.”

“He could, but he’s likely asleep.”

“So what are we going to do to pass the time?”

“I’ve got some ideas,” V smirked, “we had some interrupted plans.”

“Doubt you’ll be able to take my mind off of it, V.”

“I’ve always liked a challenge, get over here.”

***

Johnny was fairly sure that he could spend days being kissed by V and he wouldn’t notice the passage of time. She was in his lap now, her hands in his hair, kissing him with such enthusiasm he was grateful he didn’t need to breathe.

“Shirt off,” Johnny pulled away to kiss V’s neck, “now.”

“Are you going to actually look?”

“Yes. Off.”

V tugged her shirt off, tossing it off the edge of the bed, her bra following shortly after.

“Shit, V, those are some impressive tits,” Johnny traced the scrollwork that covered her ribs before reaching for her breasts, “how much did it hurt to get them tattooed?”

“It hurt enough,” V watched his hands, it was strange to be able to feel his touch while her skin never moved, “you’re up, Silverhand. Ditch the pants.”

“Get up a second.”

V moved, giving Johnny a minute to fight with the leather while she slipped her underwear off, “well,” V arched her eyebrow when Johnny turned around, “that _is_ impressive.”

Johnny smiled, “told you.”

“Come here.”

Johnny crawled over her, pushing her into the bed with a growl as he kissed and bit up her leg, over her stomach up to her neck, “I’m going to fuck you into this bed until you’re ruined for anyone else.”

“Already ruined for everyone else,” V spread her legs and pulled him to rest between them, “now get to it before someone fucking calls me.”

Johnny held the base of his cock, smacking it gently against her clit, “you sure, princess?”

“Not getting any younger, Johnny.”

“Pushy bitch.”

And that was where it went wrong, Johnny tried, he really did, but each attempt to finally, _finally_ , push inside of V resulted in a pixelated glitch.

“You’re fucking kidding me,” Johnny groaned, “seriously?”

“I warned you,” V looked at Johnny as he dropped on the bed next to her, “outside of the body is probably fine, but inside? Complicated.”

“And now I’m going to have a set of digital blue balls.”

“Hmm,” V looked down at Johnny’s cock, hard and flushed against his stomach, “close your eyes, I have an idea.”

Johnny complied immediately, a testament to his need.

V reached between her legs, gathering some of her slick and bringing her middle finger to circle her clit.

“Shit,” Johnny breathed, “that feels good. What are you doing?”

“I’ll tell you after,” V reached with her other hand and took Johnny’s, “just enjoy.”

It wasn’t going to take long, it usually didn’t. V had enough years alone to know how to play her body perfectly, so she was hardly surprised that Johnny was moaning softly beside her within minutes, rolling his hips up with each circle around her clit.

V kept her eyes on Johnny while, as instructed, he kept his eyes closed.

 _Probably the first time he ever did what I told him,_ V laughed softly when Johnny let out a startled moan when her muscles started to flutter.

“ _Fuck,_ ” Johnny squeezed her fingers and reached for his cock, stroking it slowly.

“Want me to draw it out?”

“No,” Johnny breathed, “it’s been fifty years.”

“Okay,” V bit her lip and increased her speed, her orgasm building at the base of her spine as Johnny started to writhe on the bed next to her.

V was _very_ grateful that her neighbours couldn’t hear Johnny as the pleasure took them both. His moan something between a startled scream and a groan of relief as he came, his grip on her hand almost painful.

“What,” Johnny blew some of his hair from his face, “that fuck was that?”

“Got myself off,” V shrugged, “if you can feel all the pain that comes along with the bio-chip, thought you might be able to feel the pleasure, too.”

“Wait, I’ve been in your head for like a _month_ and that’s the first time you’ve done that?”

“Yep.”

“We’re you horny?”

“ _Yep_ ,” V rolled her eyes, “but someone didn’t want to fuck a cop, so we waited.”

“I don’t even know why you liked the guy,” Johnny grumbled, sitting up to get dressed.

“You mean aside from the muscles, the beautiful mouth, the fact he loves his family, or his gorgeous voice?” V caught Johnny’s hand before he left the bed, pulling him back down, “I don’t know, I guess there isn’t much appeal.”

Johnny scowled at her, keeping his back to her but not shaking his hand free.

“Are you jealous, babe?”

“No.”

“Yes you are, come here,” V tugged Johnny back onto the bed, wrapping him in her arms, “first, you’re a fuckin’ idiot, second you’ve got nothing to be jealous about.”

“I’m not an idiot.”

“You told me today that you weren’t sure that monogamy is for you, but you expect me to…what…sit at home and wait for you?”

“No…”

“So you want me to yourself, but you want to be able to go and paint the town red with Kerry? Rogue? Whoever?”

Well, now she was just making him sound like an asshole, “no…”

“Uh-huh,” V kissed his forehead, “you got some shit to work on, babe.”

“Or what, you’ll leave?”

V paused when he heard the tone of Johnny’s voice, not nearly as confident as it usually was, “no, I won’t leave. I’ll just go and fuck River.”

“He’s a cop!”

“An _ex-cop_ with a huge dick.”

“How do you know?”

“Please, with the confidence to wear that jacket? He’s packin’ more than iron.”

“Shut up, V.”


	4. Chapter 4

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Yeah, don't worry - there'll be an epilogue.

“V, wake up.”

“Johnny, I love you but I swear to fuckin’ god if you wake me up one more time I’m going to fuckin’ pull this chip from my head and kill us both.”

“Your phone is ringing, gonk. It could be important.”

V groaned, sitting up and glaring at Johnny as her implant answered the call, “V here.”

“V?”

“Oh, hey, River,” V frantically reached for her blanket, covering her naked form, “what’s up?”

“You, uh, that is to say…”

V lit a cigarette while she waited for River to find the words.

“Hang up.”

“No,” V looked at Johnny, “why should I? He hasn’t said anything yet.”

“He’s going to ask you out, say no.”

“Why?”

“V.”

“No, seriously Johnny, why?”

“I was wondering if you would like to go out for dinner, sometime? I know you said you had a lot going on, but I fell…a spark…with you.”

“Told you,” Johnny stood from the bed, pulling on his clothes, “say no.”

“River,” V leaned against the wall, “I like you, you’re a great guy. That’s why I left that night. You don’t want to get tangled up in this. If I’m being honest there’s only a fifty-fifty chance I’ll be alive by the end of next week.”

“V, please.”

“I’ll tell you what,” V winced as Johnny poked her in the side, “give me two months. If my shit is sorted, I’m not dead, you can take me out for dinner.”

“Two months?” River hummed low under his breath, “that’s a long time.”

“I get it.”

“Okay,” River nodded, “I’m marking it in my calendar. Two months' time, I’m calling you.”

“Preferably after 10 am. I was still asleep.”

“Noted. Did you want to go out for breakfast this morning? As friends? It’s the least I could do after waking you up.”

“Sure,” V winced again as Johnny’s poke turned into a pinch, “give me a few minutes to get up. Same place as last time?”

“Yeah.”

“See you there,” V disconnected the call, “stop fuckin’ poking me.”

“You’re going on a date with River!”

“You tried to fuck some chick I didn’t know in my body! Since when do we have some sort of agreement about who can do _what_ exactly? We’re having breakfast as friends!”

“And in two months he’s going to whisk you away and make you have little pig babies and _rot_ in that trailer park.”

“First of all,” V stood, pushing past Johnny on the way to her closet, “River isn’t a cop anymore. Second of all, I happen to like that trailer park, and his niece and nephew. Third, I told him two months.”

“So?”

“So I only gave you _one_. You decide what happens once this proxy plan works and you have a full _four weeks_ to decide if you want a relationship with me. River has to wait for _eight._ ”

“You pretending I’m your first choice?”

“God you’re so fucking frustrating, Johnny,” V whirled around to face him, “ _of course_ you’re my number one choice. You’re the one that isn’t sure if you want to settle down or fuck all of Night City. Great, you do you, but I’m not waiting my entire life for you to figure out if you want to settle down.”

“You said we’d stay friends,” Johnny shouted back.

“I didn’t say I’d stay single! I said I would always love and care about you, and I _will_ , but I’m not going to be left on some shelf for you to decide if you’re going to play with me or not. Shit, Johnny, do you have any idea how selfish that is? I’m already going to be giving my fucking life for you, what more do you want?”

Johnny reeled back like she had hit him and V sighed.

“I’m getting dressed and we’re going to go to breakfast with River, _as friends_ , and then we’ll see Vik. He prefers that I’ve had something to eat, and he doesn’t open until 10 anyway. You want to be a grouchy fucker because I’m not willing to spend my life waiting for you, do it quietly.”

***

“Hey, V.”

“River,” V smiled as she sat across from him, “early riser. Leftover habits from the force?”

“Sorry, I lost track of time and didn’t realize it was so early. I ordered you a coffee to make up for it.”

Johnny materialized beside her, a possessive hand on her thigh gripping hard enough he knew she could feel it.

“Mercs don’t wake up before noon, for the record.”

“Noted. So what have you been up to?”

“Dealing with this…health crisis,” V gestured to her face, the bags that were never really hidden even with makeup, “and spending a lot of time with a friend.”

“Is that what we are now,” Johnny leaned to whisper in her ear, “just friends?”

“What’s your friend like?”

“His name is Johnny,” V took a sip of coffee, “he’s a musician.”

“Johnny,” River scratched at his chin, “someone I need to worry about?”

“Maybe,” V answered honestly, “we’ve been really close for a while, he lives with me.”

“So why aren’t you official? Why are you out to breakfast with me?”

“Told you it was a date,” Johnny lit a cigarette.

“He’s a…” V considered the word, “wild one. He’s known for partying, _hard_ , a musician you know? He sleeps with almost anything that has a pulse. He isn’t sure if he wants to settle down, or if he can, and I’m not sure if I want to be an option rather than a first choice. Keep in mind this is all with the idea that I survive the next few weeks, which isn’t likely.”

“Anything I can do to help?”

“Be patient with me.”

“You got it.”

***

“See you, V,” River pulled her in for a hug and Johnny could feel the relief, the _joy_ , in being touched in V’s mind.

“Bye, River.”

V headed toward her bike, sending a quick message to Vik to let him know they were on their way.

“You like him.”

“Of course I like him,” V turned the bike on.

“You liked that hug.”

“He’s good at hugging.”

“You don’t like _my_ hugs like that.”

“Johnny, I don’t know if you’ve ever actually hugged me.”

“We cuddle all the time.”

“If you’re going to be this testy with me I’m going to take omega blockers,” V pulled into traffic and started toward the clinic, “hugs are different to cuddles, and I’m sure you’ll find if Vik hugs me today, or Misty, I’ll have a similar feeling to when River did it. I just like being hugged. Stop being an asshole.”

“I’m the asshole? You went on a date with River.”

“You were considering asking Rogue out.”

Johnny stopped short, “how did you know that?”

“Our memories go both ways, Johnny boy. You want to get off your high horse now?”

“But I didn’t ask her out.”

“And I didn’t ask out River.”

“You still went with him.”

V took a deep breath and Johnny could feel her fighting with her temper, “I bet you fifty eddys you try and fuck Rogue when you get your body back. Don’t pretend you’re perfect, Johnny. Remember, I’m keeping my options open because _you_ told _me_ that you weren’t sure if you could settle down. Now, shut the fuck up before I crash the bike to put us both out of our misery.”

***

“Hey, sweetheart,” Vik greeted as V walked in, “you okay?”

“Rough morning with my guest,” V pointed to the chip, “being an asshole.”

“Well, I might have good news,” Vik stood from his desk and gestured for V to follow him toward the back of the practice, “Judy’s back here working.”

“Hey, V.”

“Hey, surprised to see you here.”

“Vik explained,” Judy waved at V’s face, “I get it. Sorry, I shouldn’t have…”

“I shouldn’t have left,” V cut her off, “so we’re both sorry and we’re friends, right?”

“Yeah,” Judy looked relieved, “these plans, they’re something.”

“I know I have it going on in my head right now, we’re not even going to touch on how strange it is that my fucking terrorist friend is standing right next to you and I can _see him_ and you guys can’t.”

“Friend again,” Johnny grumbled, “you can’t fuck a chick _once_ and get demoted to friend.”

“Oh my god, Johnny shut the fuck up.”

Judy and Vik stared at her dumbfounded.

“I said that out loud, didn’t I?” V sighed, “he’s being an asshole. This has been a _trying_ morning.”

“Well, you better grab a chair, sweetheart, because we have news.”

***

“So we could do it?” V looked over the screen, “Judy you fucking genius.”

“I put the order in for the proxys, they should be here next week,” Vik was smiling, _really_ smiling for the first time in weeks, “Judy will just need to spend some time making your engram. It won’t be like what happened with Johnny, it’ll take a few days.”

“Ask them if it’ll hurt,” Johnny was pacing, “seriously. I was healthy when they made mine, V, and I fucking died.”

“Johnny wants to know if it’ll hurt.”

“He won’t feel a thing.”

“I’m not fucking worried about me,” Johnny screamed at Judy, “fuck V, tell her.”

“He’s not worried about him,” V lit a smoke to ease Johnny’s nerves, “he’s worried about me. Soulkiller was pretty traumatic for him.”

“Short answer, we don’t know,” Judy shrugged, “new grounds on the civilian ground. It might, we’ll take it slow. Vik showed me your brain scans, we’ll have to be careful so you don’t die in the process.”

“So what happens to this body?” V asked Vik, “you pull the chip and…”

“It’ll die,” Vik confirmed, “we’ll give you a sedative, first. Pull the bio-chip while you’re still alive so we don’t risk hurting the chip, we’ll activate Johnny first, cause we know the chip can’t last outside of a body, and then we can work on you.”

“How long between us?” Johnny asked, “fuck I wish I could just talk to them.”

“Johnny wants to know how long between us.”

“A day, maybe two.”

“What am I supposed to do for two days?”

“What Johnny Silverhand always does,” V rolled her eyes, “whatever he wants.”

“You’re a real bitch today, V.”

V ignored him, “do you have any pictures of these proxys?”

“They’re custom, so they’ll look like you,” Vik pulled up the samples on the screen, “tell Johnny that I had to upgrade his arm, the model he had they stopped making in 2035, but he’ll be able to feel things with this one, better control. I kept it silver, thought it was appropriate.”

“Make sure he gets my cock right.”

“He’s hung like a horse,” V pointed out, “make sure you keep him that way or he’ll never let me hear the end of it.”

“V, I can honestly say I’ve never ordered a male proxy for someone that _wasn’t_ hung like a horse, he’ll be fine. I moved his tattoos over, too. I wasn’t sure if you wanted yours.”

“Just these two,” V held up her hands, “I don’t care about the rest.”

Johnny stopped mid-step. As angry as they had been with each other today, she was keeping the tattoo that he had gotten her. It was…touching…and Johnny felt some of his fight leave him.

“Kerry wants to be here for Johnny,” V sent the funds to Vik, “he also covered the cost.”

“Yeah, that’s fine, he’ll just need to keep a distance from the procedure that’s all.”

“When do we get started?”

“Now, if you’re feeling up to it. I’m going to try and pull the engram off in decades, so we’ll capture your childhood first.”

“What do I need to do?”

“Sit down, jack in.”

***

“You okay?” Johnny sat on the edge of the chair as Judy worked.

“It doesn’t feel great,” V kept her eyes closed, “burns a bit.”

“Sorry for being a jerk today.”

“Me too,” V smiled as Johnny took her hand, “no more dates with River while you’re in my body. Promise.”

“Hey, Vik, check this out.”

Vik stood behind Judy, “well ain’t that somethin’.”

“You’re making me nervous,” V called out, “what?”

“We’re logged into all of your sensors right now, just getting an idea of your overall body and spatial awareness. It looks like someone is holding your hand.”

“Johnny is,” V turned to Judy who turned the monitor so V could see, “he’s worried about me.”

“I always heard that Silverhand was a real asshole.”

“Yeah, he is,” V squeezed his fingers, “my asshole.”

***

“Lots of rest,” Vik hugged her, “lots of sleep. Come back tomorrow and we’ll keep going. Try not to get shot tonight, okay?”

“You got it. See you, Judy.”

Judy gave an absent wave as she went through the data and V headed for the street.

“Sounds like you should spend the next few days at home.”

“Yeah,” V decided to walk instead of drive, “it’s okay, got a few things to put in order, anyway.”

***

Johnny wasn’t sure if he had ever seen V’s apartment so clean. In between going to Vik’s clinic, V had cleaned her apartment head to toe, cleaned out her cars, organized her gun room.

“Are you nesting or some shit, V?”

“I’ve been granted a very rare gift, Johnny.”

“Knowing what Johnny Silverhand looks like naked?”

“Johnny, you did an entire show naked once. I said _rare_.”

“What is it?”

“I know exactly when I’ll die. Right down to the hour,” V sat on her couch and looked around the apartment, “which means I could clean up the mess so no one else needed to.”

“But you’ll be back in like two days.”

“We hope, as we have a BD editor and a Ripper trying to figure out tech that the best and brightest of Arasaka haven’t figured out. You should probably keep in mind that I might die, for good, in a few days.”

The thought hadn’t occurred to him, not at all. He had been riding the high of finding out that Vik thought their plan would work.

“You’re not going to die.”

“Says who?”

“Me.”

“Great, well I guess that’s sorted then,” V rolled her eyes, “sit. I need to go over some shit with you.”

“Breakin’ up with me already?”

“We ain’t official, gonk, so no,” V sighed, “just listen, okay?”

“Yeah.”

“I’ve been busy, and I’ve got lots of things in motion, the list is on my computer,” V pointed to the desk, “the apartment has been paid for six months ahead, okay? The cars I own, so no payments on those.”

“Right…why does this matter to me?”

“Because if I don’t make it, Vik is going to transfer everything into your name. You’ll have the money coming from Kerry, that’ll carry you until you decide what to do. Apartment is going under your name, Scorpion’s bike, my car, that’s yours. The Arch is going back to Mama Welles, Misty will be taking it. Don’t be an asshole when she does.”

“Wait…what?”

“You’re going to need to get a phone, for now, you can use mine. Vik will give it to you and install the updates you need to use it.”

“V, hang on, shut up a minute…”

“The gun room,” V pointed, “is organized. Once your name switches on the lease it’ll open for you. I’ll leave your gun in there.”

“V,” Johnny shouted, “would you fuckin’ stop. You’re not going to die.”

“ _Hopefully_. Hopefully, I’m not gonna die, but you don’t know that, and I’d be a shitty friend if I didn’t set you up before I went. Any questions?”

Johnny felt sick, a black hole in the middle of his chest. He reached for his glasses, pulling them off and dropping them on the table, rubbing at his eyes.

“Did you never consider it?” V spoke softly, “really?”

“No, I didn’t fuckin’ consider it,” Johnny sighed, “there’s never been a time that I considered you not gettin’ out of this alive. I made a promise.”

“I know you did,” V shifted on the couch to wrap her arm around his shoulders, “and we tried our best, right until the end. If something happens to me, it was never your fault, okay?”

Johnny nodded, not sure what to say.

“Tomorrow is the last batch of data,” V spoke softly like he was speaking to someone on the edge of a breakdown, “your proxy arrived today, mine comes tomorrow. Judy is going to take a few days to put my shit right, Kerry has said you’re going to stay with him while they try and bring me back online.”

“Absolutely not. I’m not leaving you.”

“Johnny,” V squeezed him softly, “I’ll be dead.”

“Shut up, V.”

***

“Phones ringin’,” Johnny called as V showered, glancing at the screen on the table and frowning at the face he saw there, “it’s River.”

“Hey,” V answered, jumping as Johnny walked through the door, “what’s going on?”

“Hey,” River greeted warmly, “I was wondering if you wanted to come over for dinner.”

“I’d love to, but I can’t make it tonight,” V wrapped a towel around herself and walked into the living room, “I’ve got a big medical appointment tomorrow, got to be up early.”

“Oh, are they going to be fixing that problem?”

“They’re going to try.”

“Did you want some company? I could come over tonight, take you to the Ripper’s tomorrow?”

“Try hard,” Johnny frowned.

“It’s okay, I have Johnny here,” V pat Johnny on the chest, “he’s going to take me.”

“Ah,” River did a small half-laugh, “Johnny. My competition. You said he played music? What, like a guitarist?”

“Yep, sings too.”

“Like a Johnny Silverhand knock-off?”

V snorted as Johnny flipped off the phone, “he’s better than Johnny Silverhand.”

“I hope so, Silverhand was a terrorist.”

“Was he?” V ordered a beer from the vending machine.

“Yeah, he tried to blow up Arasaka tower.”

“Night City would be better without Arasaka tower.”

“Maybe,” River agreed, “but you don’t get that way by blowing it up.”

“Then how?”

“He has no idea,” Johnny growled, “none. He’s a fucking cop who has lived and breathed whatever someone more important has told him to do. I bet he doesn’t even like the fucking restaurant he took you to today, he just doesn’t have enough of a personality to try something else.”

“Not sure,” River answered, “what would you have done?”

“Blown up Arasaka,” V sat on the couch, “but I wouldn’t have started with the elevator, I would have done a two-tier attack. Penthouse, and basement. Blow up the penthouse, wait for everyone to rush upstairs, blow out the foundation. I would have planted explosive material in _every_ Arasaka van I found, you really only need the fuse in one depending on what sort of explosives you used.”

“I…well…shit, V.”

V laughed as Johnny sat across from her with his mouth hanging open, “Nomad, remember, River? I’ve had plans to blow up the corpos since I was six.”

“Sounds like it.”

“I need to go, you caught me coming out of the shower. I don’t want to catch a cold right before surgery.”

“Yeah, sure. Good luck, V. Let me know how it goes.”

“You know it.”

“The fucking basement,” Johnny laughed, “that’s fuckin’ brilliant. Where were you in 2023?

“I was born in 2049, so… nowhere?”

“Shit I’m so much older than you.”

“Fifty years in a chip doesn’t count, you’ll be like 33 when you come out,” V waved a dismissive hand, “so, they’re pulling the chip tomorrow. One last night together. What do you want to do?”

Johnny thought about it.

Last night with the first woman who had set his soul on fire. What did he want to do?

He wanted to fight, find anyone named Arasaka, Adam Smasher, DeShawn’s lackeys, and he wanted to kill them all for putting V in this position.

He wanted to fuck, but they knew that wasn’t going to work.

The more he thought about it, the more he wanted to do. He wanted to scream, to cry like he had when he was a child and realized that no one was there for him, he wanted to beg, _beg_ , V to stay, he wanted to walk out.

“Johnny?”

“I have no idea,” Johnny didn’t hide how his voice wavered, “it’s your last night, what do _you_ want to do.”

“I’m doin’ it.”

“What do you mean, sitting in your apartment with a terrorist?”

“Sitting in my apartment with you,” V took a sip of her beer, “knowing that if something happens to me, you’ll be okay.”

“You’re too much, V,” Johnny tossed his sunglasses on the table, “come on.”

V followed Johnny over to the bed, dropping her towel and stretching out as she waited for him to join her.

“Last night together, you want to cuddle?”

“No, I want to fuck, but it doesn’t work, so,” Johnny wrapped himself around V, wondering for a minute if he was just a little bit bigger if he could save her from all of this, “we have this.”

“When you think back, remember me,” V linked their fingers together, “we always will.”

***

“What do you wear to die?” V stood in front of the closet, “if you could do it again, would you have picked different pants?”

“These were comfortable pants,” Johnny leaned against the wall next to her, “but the short answer is whatever you don’t mind ruining. You’re gonna piss yourself when you go.”

“Fair enough,” V grabbed a pair of shorts and an oversized sweater, “ready to go?”

“Why are you so calm?”

“Because I’ve been waiting for this day for a month when I stopped being V and started only being Johnny. I was scared when it was out of my control, but today I decide.”

“You’re going to be fine, Judy will make sure of it.”

“I hope so,” V paused, taking one last look over her apartment, “can I ask for one thing before we go?”

“Of course.”

“A hug?”

Johnny immediately pulled her into his arms, clearing his throat to avoid tears, “we’re going to go in there, get me up and running, in a couple of days you’ll follow and in the end, we’ll blow up Arasaka together, okay?”

“Basement idea really turned you on, huh?”

“You’re damn right.”

***

“Did you want me to take an omega blocker, before?” V asked as they walked to Vik’s, “you’ve already died once.”

“No, I’ll be there.”

“You sure?”

“Of course I’m fuckin’ sure.”

“Okay.”

V walked with more confidence toward her own death than Johnny had seen anyone walk toward anything.

“Hey, Vik,” V greeted warmly, like it was any other day, “we ready to go?”

“Uh, yeah,” Vik smiled weakly, “weird day as a Ripper to do something you know is going to kill your patient.”

“Kill me for now, but I’m dying anyway. Can I see the proxys before we start?”

“Sure,” Vik gestured for her to follow, Johnny following closely behind, “Judy is busy working on your engram. She went into it with her BD halo last night, had a whole conversation with 18-year-old V apparently.”

“She tried to fuck me,” Judy called out across the room.

“Yep,” V laughed, “sounds about right.”

“I’m up to twenty-five now,” Judy called back, “three more years to go.”

“Keep at it!”

“Here we go,” Vik brought them to two tables, “I’ve kept them covered, still had other people coming in.”

“Can I see?”

“Go ahead.”

V reached for one of the sheets, pulling it back to reveal the face of Johnny Silverhand.

“Oh, wow,” V brushed the proxys hair back from his face.

“You okay, V?”

“Yeah,” V glanced up and Johnny noticed she was crying, “sorry, stupid. I’ve known him for so long and I can _see_ him, but wow is it nice to actually _touch_ him.”

“You guys are close, huh?”

“Yeah, he’s my best choom,” V sat on the edge of the table, pulling the sheet back a little further, “what do you think Johnny?”

“Looks good,” Johnny nodded, “pull the sheet further back, need to check the goods.”

V rolled her eyes, pulling the sheet off entirely, “good?”

“Not bad, I mean, it’s how you use it, right?”

“Yes, Johnny, it’s how you use it,” V laughed as she covered him back up.

“Johnny satisfied?”

“Seems to be.”

“I’ve left you mostly natural, figured you might want a change.”

“Oh man, let’s see,” V moved to the other table, pulling the sheet off in one go, “holy _fuck_.”

“ _Damn_ ,” Johnny whistled, “you have black hair naturally? That’s _hot_ , V.”

“Man, when was the last time I had natural hair?”

“When you moved to Night City,” Vik pointed to the hands, “your tattoos, as requested.”

“Looks good,” V covered her proxy, “so how do we do this?”

“Twenty-seven!” Judy shouted, “boring few years there, V.”

“Yeah, life didn’t pick up until I found Jackie.”

“He’d be so proud of you,” Misty spoke from the door, Kerry following behind her.

“Hey,” V hugged Kerry and Misty, “come to watch the big event?”

“I wanted to make sure Johnny woke up to someone familiar,” Kerry shrugged, “and I didn’t want you to go alone.”

“Thanks, Kerry,” V pat his shoulder, “Misty?”

“I wanted to ask a favor.”

“Oh?”

“If you see Jackie, can you tell him I’m sorry?”

“Yes, of course, but I don’t think we’ll end up in the same place,” V laughed, “I’m sure I’ll be toasty where I am.”

“Now, no talking like that,” Vik cut in.

“Done!” Judy came running from her desk, “V, the data went through! We just need to transfer it to the chip when I’m done building it and you’re good to go.”

There was a collective sigh of relief, and Johnny wrapped his arm around her shoulder, “ask her if it’s a sure thing.”

“Johnny wants to know if it’s a sure thing.”

“No,” Judy shook her head, “I’ve been working with doll chips for long enough that making an engram was no big thing, making the chip transfer that data accurately, it’s a different thing. I feel confident…but…you know a lot could go wrong.”

“Do the best you can.”

“I will.”

“Well,” Vik cleared his throat, “ready?”

Johnny felt the sudden rush of terror, squeezing V just a little harder.

“Yeah,” V looked at Johnny and tried to smile, “let’s do this.”

V climbed into the chair, jacking in when Vik prompted her to.

“See you soon, V. I would stay but…”

“I get it, Misty. I’ll tell Jack you love him.”

“Thanks.”

“I’m going to work on the chip,” Judy pointed over her shoulder, “uh, see you, V.”

“Later, Judy. Thanks.”

“I’m going to give you a sedative, so you won’t feel it. I’m going to rush the chip over to Johnny, he should reboot automatically.”

“You might want to drug him,” V commented mildly, “he broke my nose when we met.”

“I was already planning on it. Hopefully in a day, maybe two, we’ll put your chip in your proxy and we’ll be good to go.”

“Great,” V was hyperventilating.

“Easy,” Vik sat on the edge of the chair, taking her hand, “I’ll take care of you, kiddo. You can trust me.”

“I know, keep Johnny safe, okay?”

“I will, I promise.”

“Let’s do it.”

“Okay,” Vik pulled out a large syringe, “it’ll take a second, you’ll feel dizzy and then you’ll drift off to sleep.”

V nodded, frantically reaching for Johnny’s hand.

“I’m here,” Johnny held as tightly as he could, “I’ll see you soon, okay? We’ll keep working on the chip until we get it right. I’ll sell out a million times to get you back, I promise.”

“I love you, Johnny.”

“Love you too, V.”

Then she let go, her hand dropping from his grip and her eyes closing.

Vik sighed, and Johnny took a minute to survey the scene, “I’ve got to bring Johnny over, just sit down and don’t touch anything.”

Kerry sat obediently, looking around the room, “you think Johnny’s watching?”

“Yeah, probably. V’s brain is still firing, she’s just very deeply asleep for now. I’ll be right back.”

“Johnny, I’ll be right here when you wake up,” Kerry spoke softly, “please don’t do anything stupid.”

“Fuck you, Kerry,” Johnny realized he didn’t have V to voice it for him anymore.

“Alright,” Vik moved Johnny’s proxy next to V, “just need to jack him in, hopefully, he doesn’t pull it out before I get him running, these new hybrids are testy.”

“Hybrids?”

“Half organic. V said Johnny didn’t like chrome,” Vik rushed around, “we upgraded.”

Johnny wished they could hear him, but he kept his grip on V’s hand as Vik adjusted them both on the chairs.

“Okay, Johnny, if you can hear me. I’m going to pull the chip. It’ll start a hard-reboot when I put it in the proxy, you’re going to feel a little out of it, but you’re around friends so try to keep a level head.”

“Yeah, okay,” Johnny agreed, watching as Vik moved V’s hair out of the way.

“Alright, kiddo,” Vik steadied his hand on V’s neck, “hopefully I’ll see you soon.”

Johnny only just heard the click of the chip releasing, and his world went black.

***

Minutes, seconds, Johnny wasn’t sure but as his vision came to light he was greeted by the face of Kerry looking down at him.

“Can you hear me?”

“Yeah,” Johnny croaked, “I heard you, I’ll keep still.”

“Thank fuck it worked,” Vik spoke from his other side, “hang tight, Johnny. I’ll have you up in an hour or so.”

“V?”

Vik paused, his hand hovering over the screen, “gone. Her body was so sick, when I took the chip out there were only one or two breaths, she slipped away. She was sick, Johnny. Worse than she told either of us. She likely only had a few days left anyway, and you would have taken over. Could you even disappear anymore if you wanted to?”

“I don’t know,” Johnny kept still, looking at the ceiling, “I didn’t want to.”

***

“Move your fingers,” Vik held up his organic hand, “good, the silver one? Good. How does it feel?”

“Empty,” Johnny mumbled, “without V.”

“Night City _is_ empty without V,” Vik cleared his throat, “but she wanted to save you, and we did. Sit up, slowly.”

It was strange, it felt like his old body and it felt nothing like his old body. The ache in his shoulder, the one he had since he had lost his arm was gone, so was the urge for a cigarette.

“How do you feel?”

“I hurt, right here,” Johnny tapped on his chest, “is my ticker good?”

“Perfect, aside from a broken heart,” Vik pat him on the shoulder, “Kerry brought you some clothes, you can get dressed, just take it slow.”

Johnny unplugged his jack, watching it disappear into his arm with a faint feeling of nausea.

“I had some of your old stuff,” Kerry offered him a bag, “hope it’s okay.”

“Yeah, thanks.”

Johnny dressed carefully, the enjoyment he expected from having his own body back muted as Vik cleaned up the area.

“Where is she?”

“V?” Vik nodded toward the back, “in the cold room. She said you could decide what happened to her body.”

Johnny looked over his shoulder, “you got a smoke?”

“V left her case for you here,” Vik slid it on the desk, “try not to distract Judy.”

“Yeah, okay,” Johnny opened the case, putting a cigarette between his lips and lighting it automatically before headed toward the cold room in the back.

“Where are you going?” Kerry followed after him.

“I promised her I wouldn’t leave,” Johnny stopped as he passed Judy’s desk, “hey.”

“Hey, Silverhand,” Judy didn’t look up from the small chip she was working on, “how’s the proxy?”

“Fine. Thanks for helping.”

“You’re welcome. She, uh, looks rough. Might want to prepare yourself.”

“Thanks,” Johnny pushed open the door, wincing at the single table in the middle of the room, covered entirely with a blanket, “hey, V.”

There was no answer, Johnny hadn’t expected one, but he pulled back the sheet to see her face just to make sure.

Judy had been right. V had started to look thin, anyway, but now that there was literally no life in her body it was very obvious how sick she was. Her cheekbones sticking out in sharp relief under the LED lights, the bruises under her eyes a sickening purple.

She was so still.

Johnny saw the tear hit the sheet before he realized it was his, reaching out to brush the hair from her face and cursing that the first time he got to touch her, she was gone.

“Hey,” Kerry wrapped his arm over Johnny’s shoulder, “not forever, just for now, yeah?”

“Yeah,” Johnny whispered, “I’m not leaving here until she’s back.”

“Yeah, I figured as much, I brought you some spare clothes and I have beer in the trunk.”

“Thanks, Kerry.”

***

Vik’s clinic had turned into a private hang out for everyone close enough to V to know what was going on. They took turns sleeping in shifts, someone always keeping an eye on the cold room.

It wasn’t one day or two days, and as it stretched into a week Johnny could feel his temper slipping.

“Easy, kiddo,” Vik pulled him from the clinic by the front of his shirt, “Judy is doing the best she can, we’re working on something new, it’s going to take time.”

“I want her back,” Johnny raged, kicking a nearby garbage can.

“We all want her back, Johnny.”

“Excuse me?”

Johnny turned at the voice, “and now the pigs are here.”

“Pigs?” Vik turned to face River, “and you are?”

“River Ward, ex-pig,” River took a tentative step forward, “I was wondering if you knew anything about a patient named V? This is the closest Ripper to her apartment, she was meant to have surgery a week ago and I never heard back. She might just be ghosting me, but…I wanted to make sure she’s okay.”

“How do you know V?”

“He’s in love with her,” Johnny crossed his arms over his chest, “takes her to cookouts and breakfast.”

“Sorry, do I know you?”

“Johnny Silverhand,” Johnny flipped him off with his silver hand, it was petty, but it made him feel better.

“Ah, that explains it,” Vik laughed, “this is V’s boyfriend. V’s…”

“Dead,” Johnny spat the word, “she’s not fucking meant to be, but her stupid ass insisted on saving me and now I’m standing here talking to a pig while she’s in a fridge downstairs.”

“Dead?”

“In a coma,” Vik corrected, “we’re working on it, but she’s not up for visitors.”

“I guess…could someone just let me know if she wakes up?”

“Sure,” Vik stood between Johnny and River, “flip me your deets and I’ll make sure someone tells you.”

“Thanks,” River gave a small nod, “see you later.”

“Fuckin’ pig.”

“Seems like a nice enough guy.”

“He’s trying to steal V from me. He has a stupid jacket.”

“I’ll admit,” Vik pulled out a cigarette, lighting it before offering the pack to Johnny, “from what I’ve heard about Johnny Silverhand, I thought you’d be out fucking half of Afterlife right now.”

“I promised I wouldn’t leave her.”

“Since when does a terrorist keep a promise?”

“Since I made it to _V_.”

“Look,” Vik took a drag and leveled Johnny with a look that made him squirm, “seems you’ve tried real hard to do right by V. If she makes it through this, make sure you _keep_ doing right by V. If you hurt her, I’ll take your proxy offline myself, dig?”

“Yeah.”

“Good,” Vik flicked the cigarette into the alley, “come on, we’ve got work to do.”

***

“Here,” Johnny put a bottle of water next to Judy.

“Thanks,” Judy’s eyes never left the screen, her eyes reading the lines of code as they scrolled from top to bottom.

“How’s it looking?”

“I think it’s done,” Judy kept her eyes on the screen, “just doing a third check, but right now it’s all in line with the specs of the chip in your head.”

“When can we…”

“When you shut up and let me finish my check.”

***

“Right, we’ll move fast, like we did with Johnny,” Vik was explaining, “Kerry, you park it over by the couch, Johnny, you can hold her right hand, but her left hand needs to stay still. Judy, run the chip over when you’re ready and we’ll get things moving.”

“How long does it take, once it's in?”

“It was about an hour for you, we can assume the same for V.”

Vik jacked V’s proxy in, reviewing the screen, “I’m green here, Judy. When you’re ready.”

Johnny sat on the edge of the chair, holding her hand and tracing her tattoo.

“Ready?”

“When you are.”

Judy jogged over, chip in hand, Vik took it quickly and slotted it in place, looking back at the screen, “proxy reads the chip, just unpacking the files now.”

“Now what?”

“We wait.”

***

It was just a slight flicker of a grip at first, her fingers twitching against Johnny’s palm.

“Doc, I got movement.”

“Good,” Vik checked the screen with Judy, “we’re on track. She should start moving more now. Memories look intact, just syncing with her cybernetics.”

Each movement because more pronounced, legs twitching, hands twitching, suddenly she started to breathe, a steady up and down of her chest.

“Heart looks good, lungs are clear,” Vik rattled off, “brain activity is off the roof, hearing just came online.”

“V,” Johnny spoke softly, “time to wake up.”

“Optics registered, she should be aware in a few seconds.”

V’s eyes slowly flickered open, blinking a few times to clear before she looked up at Johnny.

“Shit, Vik, I think the sedative wore off.”

Vik let out a startled laugh, “V?”

“Yeah?” V turned her head, “what?”

“It worked!” Vik hugged Judy in a crushing grip, “stay still, I’ve got to do some tests.”

“Wait, what?” V turned back to Johnny, “it worked?”

“Hey, princess.”

“Hey,” V sagged back against the chair, “did I miss much?”

“A week,” Johnny leaned forward, kissing her forehead.

“You sure this isn’t the afterlife?”

“I can show you your dead body if it’ll help.”

“Ew,” V wrinkled her nose, “here I thought you’d say something romantic when I came to.”

“Love you,” Johnny kissed her, softly, and enjoyed the feeling of actually touching her.

“Love you, too.”

“We all love each other, it’s great. Move Silverhand, I need to get your girlfriend online.”

***

“Easy, take it slow,” Vik helped her stand, “how do you feel?”

“Fine,” V took a few tentative steps, “it’s weird. Nice, I mean, I was feeling pretty rough near the end, but this body feels…”

“Like you’ve had it your entire life?”

“Yeah,” V was wearing one of Johnny’s t-shirts and a pair of shorts borrowed from Misty, “I can’t believe that’s it. A month of fighting, puking, arguing with Johnny, and we figured it out.”

“Fuck yeah we did,” Judy cheered, “time for a party.”

“Take it easy, just for the first few days,” Vik cautioned, “but if we want to order pizza, it’ll be my treat.”

***

V and Johnny walked back to the apartment a few hours later hand in hand, not speaking, just enjoying the relative safety.

“Did Vik transfer my stuff?”

“No, he said he wanted to wait until he knew it had failed. I’m a homeless bum.”

“Nah, you’ll stay with me,” V opened the apartment door and let Johnny in, “so, we did it.”

“You did it,” Johnny pulled her into his arms.


	5. Chapter 5

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> I lied, I'm sorry - one more after this - got too many ideas and too many words. This is 13 pages in word, I didn't want to turn it into a 23 page chapter.
> 
> Also, if you didn't know you can actually take Johnny on a rollercoaster in Pacifica - it's so worth doing if you haven't.

“Man, I wish I could fuck you right now.”

V glanced over her shoulder as she undressed for bed, “Vik said we had to wait a few days for all of our systems to fully come online.”

“I know what he said, I’m just saying what I want.”

“Does your cock even work yet?”

“Yeah, but I’ve been up and running for a week longer than you have.”

“Haven’t taken it for a test drive yet?”

“I didn’t leave Vik’s clinic.”

V paused, turning to face Johnny, “at all?”

“I promised I wouldn’t.”

“Babe,” V smiled and Johnny couldn’t help but return it, “I knew you were romantic under all of that spikey, asshole, exterior.”

“Shut up and come here.”

V pushed Johnny back onto the bed, following after him and letting him pull her into his arms.

“I owe you my life,” Johnny stroked V’s hair, “you’ve given me a new chance.”

“So what are you going to do with it?” V asked, “Rockstar, activist, are you going to blow up Arasaka again?”

“Rockstar always,” Johnny kissed her forehead, “activist always. I’ll fuck over Arasaka somehow, but I want Smasher out of the way first.”

“And what about us?”

“We stick together.”

“Okay.”

***

“Johnny!”

Johnny groaned as V called him from the bathroom, slowly stirring from sleep, “what?”

“Get your sexy ass in here and help me.”

“Bitch, give me a second to wake up,” Johnny stood from the bed, pausing for a minute as he realized he was in _his_ body, in _their_ apartment. This wasn’t an engram, well…maybe it was…but it was as real as he was ever going to get. It hit him every morning, but he was still grateful.

“Johnny!”

“What?” Johnny opened the bathroom and found V naked with her hair in various ponytails holding a pair of clippers out to him.

“Help.”

“What are we doing?”

“I forgot how fucking _hot_ having this much hair is, I want my mohawk back. Shave off these side ponytails for me, try and keep the lines even.”

“You trust me to do this?” Johnny laughed, “really?”

“I trusted you to keep me alive, this is just a haircut.”

“Light a smoke for me?”

“Sure.”

Johnny couldn’t help but enjoy the domesticity of it, so taking the side of V’s head in his hand, he got to work.

***

“Good job, Silverhand,” V brushed some of the hair from her arms.

“Now I’m all covered in sharp hair.”

“Yep,” V grabbed him by the hand, turning the shower on with her fist, “come on, shower, and then we need to get dressed. We have a date planned today.”

“A romantic date?”

“Sort of, sure, Kerry, Vik, Judy, they’re all joining us.”

“Exhibitionist, are you?”

“You have no idea,” V laughed as she washed the hair from her skin, Johnny enjoying the way the water traveled over her curves.

She looked so much better now, which wasn’t surprising considering she had been shot in the head when they first met, but she wasn’t sickly anymore. Her breasts were fuller, and her hips, and while it was weird to see her with only two tattoos it was still such a relief to see her looking healthy that Johnny couldn’t help but let out a sigh as some of the tension he had been carrying for the past month left him. Day two with V in her body, but she seemed to be adjusting just fine.

“See something you like, Silverhand?”

“What do you think?” Johnny gestured to his cock, hard as he watched her.

V grabbed him by the shoulders, switching their position and dropping to her knees, “I think I should show some appreciation for all of your hard work.”

“Fuck, V.”

Johnny wasn’t surprised that V approached blow jobs like she approached everything, boldly and with no fear, but _fuck_ , she was _good_. He tangled his hands in her hair to keep it from her face and she looked at him with such _heat_ that he couldn’t help the way his hips rolled forward.

Then she _fucking moaned_.

“God, V, you like me fucking your mouth?”

“ _Mmhmm_.”

V tapped his hand, and he did it again, a smooth roll of his hips to see how much she could take.

Turns out the answer was _a lot_ , and Johnny swore under his breath as he tried to hold back and enjoy the feeling. It didn’t last long, he didn’t think it would. Fifty years in prison will do that to a man.

“V,” Johnny managed to choke out a warning, but she didn’t pull away and as he spilled down her throat he was absolutely _certain_ he was in love with the woman in front of him.

V stood with such a seductive smile that his cock gave a feeble twitch in response, “feel better?”

“You keep doing shit like that and you might convince me that love is real, V.”

“Oh, it is,” V kissed his jaw and grabbed the bottle of shampoo from the floor, “turn around, we’ve got a deadline.”

***

“You wanna drive to Kerry’s place? Vik is meeting us at Tom’s.”

“Why would I drive?”

“Cause you haven’t driven in fifty years?” V pulled on a pair of tight jeans and Johnny took a second to appreciate the curve of her ass in them now that she could fill them again.

 _Damn_ , Johnny groaned internally when she pulled on a tight sports bra and Samurai t-shirt, _I’m not going to make it the week if she keeps teasing me like this_.

“Johnny?”

“I don’t know my way around Night City anymore,” Johnny pulled on a pair of leather pants and one of Kerry’s borrowed shirts.

“You have a GPS implant now, babe, it tells you when to turn.”

“Nah, you drive.”

“Okay,” V opened the door to the gun room, “come on, we need iron.”

“Why?”

“We’re safe now, but Night City never is,” V grabbed a revolver from the table and holstered it, “I had a holster made for you, it’s just over there. Your gun is in it.”

“Shit, V,” Johnny held it up, “this is nice.”

“It was going to be a surprise if I died, at least now I get to see you enjoy it. Come on, we’re late.”

***

“I swear to fucking god this guy couldn’t be on time if I fuckin’ paid him,” V jumped over the gate, “be right back, make sure no one steals the car.”

“I want legs that do that, too,” Johnny called after V.

“Sure,” V called back, “45K.”

V disappeared into Kerry’s house and Johnny leaned against the hood of the car with a cigarette in his mouth. He still had no idea where they were going.

Next thing he knew, V was pulling Kerry from his house by the front of his jacket.

“You don’t _need_ makeup, Kerry,” V waited for him to open the gates, “what you need to fuckin’ do is not be _late_ every time I ask you to go somewhere. Fuckin’ code me for your gate too, I get sick of jumping over it.”

Kerry looked _scandalized_ , and Johnny couldn’t help but laugh as V pushed Kerry into the back of the car and climbed into the driver’s seat.

“Laugh it up, Silverhand,” Kerry smacked his shoulder as he got into the passenger seat, “she’s your wife.”

“He likes my smart mouth,” V backed the car up and pulled back onto the road.

“I sure do, princess.”

***

“So what are we having?” Johnny wrapped his arm over V’s shoulder, Vik, Judy, and Misty sitting across from them as Kerry tried not to fall off the edge of the bench.

“ _You_ can have whatever you want,” V laughed, “you got your own body now. I’m never going to eat another pancake for as long as I live.”

“What?”

“I don’t even like them, you do.”

“Why did you eat them then?”

“Because it cheered you up,” V rolled her eyes and Vik laughed.

“I’m so glad I finally get to hear both sides of this conversation,” Vik pulled out a cigar and lit it, “it was weird watching you talk to Johnny without hearing what he said back.”

“He argues, mostly.”

“V, I was meaning to ask you,” Misty sipped on her tea, “did you see Jackie?”

“Ah,” V shifted uncomfortably, “no. I mean, if there is a heaven, that’s where Jackie went, no question. I was just…nowhere. I don’t think Jackie and I were going to be lucky enough to end up in the same afterlife.”

“It was worth a shot,” Misty smiled sadly, “I miss him.”

“Me too.”

Johnny pressed a kiss to V’s temple, whispering so only she could hear, “pretty sure I found heaven in your mouth this morning.”

V snorted, elbowing his side, “Vik has enhanced hearing.”

“Really wish I didn’t,” Vik winced, “ _really bad idea_.”

***

“Where the fuck are you taking me, V?”

“Each mornin’, when you wake up, you have a minute where you forget, right? That you’re alive and _real_ and back.”

“Uh, yeah,” Johnny watched as V drove toward Pacifica, “how did you know that?”

“You were in my head long enough that I have some idea of how you think, Silverhand.”

“That’s a shame,” Johnny lit a cigarette, “so what’s in Pacifica?”

“Something that will show you just how alive you are.”

“Sex does that, too.”

“It does,” V agreed, “but I have to wait for my checkup, and considering Kerry was nice enough to pay for the proxy, I should probably be nice enough not to break it.”

“That’s your birthday, Christmas, and fucking everything present,” Kerry chimed in from the back.

“Relax,” Johnny glanced over his shoulder, “once your record chick pays us, I’ll send those eddys right back. No one needs to be on the hook for me and my girl but me.”

“Your girl?” V smiled, “you think?”

“Yeah, I think.”

***

“No fucking way,” Johnny stuck his head out the window of the car, “tell me you’re taking me to that rollercoaster.”

“Might be.”

“Fuck V, you’re amazing.”

“Hold onto that praise, babe, I haven’t cleared the parking lot yet.”

V pulled the car into a nearby parking lot, waving for Vik to park behind her.

“Expecting trouble?”

“Yep,” V popped the trunk to the car, “stay here.”

“I can shoot, V.”

“I know you can, babe,” V grabbed a shotgun from the trunk, loading it quickly, “but you’re fifty years out of practice, so let me handle this one.”

“V…”

“Please,” V pat him on the chest, “give me _one_ day where I don’t worry about you, okay?”

“What about me worrying about you?”

“You don’t worry about me,” V rolled her eyes, “Kerry, keep an eye on him.”

V leaned into Vik’s window, pointing to the landing near the entrance before patting the hood of the car and walking up the steps with the shotgun over her shoulder.

“Nope,” Johnny pushed from the car, Vik following suit nearby, “no way.”

“You thinkin’ what I’m thinkin’, kiddo?”

Johnny fought the urge to tell Vik that he was probably older, “yeah. Not leaving her alone.”

“Nope,” Vik pulled a heavy pistol from his car, “you got iron?”

“Yeah, come on.”

“Hey boys,” V was leaning against what once acted as a ticket booth, “park is reserved for the day. I’m gonna need you to clear out.”

There were at least six of them, and Johnny felt his palms sweat as V looked over the group.

“Wasn’t asking you,” V brought the shotgun in front of her, “I was telling you.”

It was carnage. V took down the two closest to her with one shot from her shotgun before switching to her pistol. By the time Vik and Johnny reacted to the firefight, V had brought the group to their knees, finishing off the last member with a shot to the back of their head.

“Fuckin’ rude,” V holstered her gun, picking up the shotgun and walking past Vik and Johnny to put it back in her car, waving for Judy, Misty and Kerry to join her as she walked back.

“Fuck, V,” Vik looked over the mess, “I knew you were good.”

“Not good,” V poked Vik’s nose as she walked by, “the best. Come on, Johnny boy, let’s get your rollercoaster working.”

***

V led the group through the part, shooting out the various turrets and cameras as she spotted them.

“V, you’re not going to last until your check-up if you keep turnin’ me on like this,” Johnny wrapped his arm over her shoulders.

“Babe, you watched me do this for weeks,” V pointed up a set of stairs, “it’s up here.”

“Yeah, but you weren’t doing much over the last week or two. Guess I forgot how good you were.”

“I felt awful,” V made her way to the rollercoaster car, lifting the shoulder harnesses on the seats, “I didn’t complain, but man, just being able to walk without that pain in my chest is amazing.”

“Why didn’t you mention something?” Vik asked, “we could have tried some medication.”

“I felt better if I took the blockers, but of course I didn’t want to take them, cause I couldn’t talk to Johnny. We made it work in the end. All good. Right, get in, losers. I need to get this on.”

V was so casual about it; it was almost hard to connect that she was walking about how sick she felt only days ago. Sick because she would rather talk to Johnny than take the treatment that made her feel better.

Johnny was so wrapped up in his thoughts V had no issue pushing him onto one of the seats and doing up the harness around him.

“Alright, you all need to actually do up the harness, no heroes, we’re going to be going upside-down and I won’t be responsible if you fall out.”

“I don’t know…”

“Come on,” Misty took Kerry’s hand, “you can sit with me.”

V checked everyone’s harness as they buckled in, “nova, give me a second.”

It took a minute, but Johnny eventually felt the car start to vibrate under his feet, “V?”

“Coming,” V jumped into the seat next to him, quickly pulling the harness on, “ready?”

“I bet you scream like a little girl.”

V looked at him and beamed, “I am a little girl, Johnny.”

***

There was a chorus of cheers as the car came to a stop and V jumped out to turn off the coaster.

“That was fuckin’ awesome,” Johnny rushed to get out of his seat and follow V, “how did you know about this place?”

V hesitated, just for a second, as she reached for the panel, “Jackie brought me here, once. Said once we made the big leagues we would buy it and restore it. Bring some joy back to Night City. I laughed at him, cause there’s no joy in Night City, so one year for my birthday he got this running and brought me here. We rode it until he puked then went out for pizza.”

“Sounds like a good guy,” Johnny helped V over the railing.

“Yeah,” V looked up at the rollercoaster, “the best.”

***

They had ended the day at Kerry’s house, Vik and Kerry watching a fight near his bar, Judy and Misty outside by the pool. Johnny was looking for V who had slipped away just after dinner, and not come back.

“You seen V?”

“Check the roof,” Vik said absently, not turning from the screen, “she likes to be up high when she’s stressed. Think it’s a nomad thing.”

“The…roof,” Johnny looked at the stairs, “got roof access, Kerry?”

“Yeah, from the balcony.”

“Thanks,” Johnny grabbed a bottle of tequila and made for the stairs. It was awkward, and he was pretty sure the air conditioning unit wasn’t exactly strong enough to support his weight, but he made it up to the roof and found V sitting with her legs dangling over the edge of the house.

“Hey,” V spoke without turning around.

“Hey, you okay?”

“Yeah, I think it just hit me, you know? We did it, you’re safe, I’m safe, and now I have to figure out what comes next.”

“You could take some time off,” Johnny sat beside her, passing her the bottle, “relax.”

“I’m not good at relaxing. I was on the street less than a week after being shot in the head.”

“Fair.”

“I’m worried.”

“About?”

“Everything,” V took a long sip before passing the bottle back to Johnny, “what you’re going to do now that you’re back in the world, what Rogue is going to do when she finds out. I keep thinkin’ I’m going to lose you now, just like I lost Jack.”

“Not goin’ anywhere,” Johnny wrapped his arm over V’s shoulder, pulling her closer, “fifty years is a lot of time to think, V. I know where I screwed up. I’ve never had a choom like you, not about to ruin that now.”

“Promise?”

“Promise.”

***

“How have you been feeling?” Vik rolled his chair over to V and waited for her to jack in, “everything working like it should?”

“Seems to be. I feel fine, better now than I did a few weeks ago, that’s for sure.”

“Systems look good,” Vik looked over the screen, “you seem to be taking to your proxy just as well as Johnny did. Where is he, anyway?”

“Still sleeping. He was up late last night practicing with Kerry.”

“I’m surprised he let you out of his sights, he seems to act like your shadow most days.”

“Night City is like a home that isn’t a home to him anymore. I’ve been helping him get around. He’s branching out now, soon he won’t even remember V the merc.”

“Hey,” Vik pat her hand, “what brought that on?”

“The fact I’m not an idiot,” V shrugged, “come on, Vik. I won’t be the one to tame Johnny Silverhand.”

“Do you want to be?”

V sighed, “does it matter?”

“Does to me.”

“A girl can dream,” V shrugged, “he’s everything I like in a guy. Like Jackie, was. Loyal, funny, resourceful.”

“Give him a chance to do right before you assume he’ll do wrong, kiddo.” Vik pulled her jack, “you’re good to resume all normal day to day life.”

“That means…”

“Normal day to day life,” Vik leveled her with a look, “I don’t want details, but you can assume you’re safe to do whatever you’re thinking.”

“Thanks, Vik.”

“V?”

“Yeah?”

“If he breaks your heart, you come back here and I’ll fix it for you, okay?”

“Thanks, old man.”

“No problem.”

***

V took the long way back to the apartment, picking up cigarettes and breakfast for the both of them before making her way home.

Johnny was still right where she left him, stretched out on the bed snoring.

“Babe,” V sat the food on the table and pulled off her jacket, “I got breakfast.”

There was only a slight stutter to the snoring, so V sighed and walked over the bed, nudging his foot with hers.

“Get up, Silverhand. It’s almost noon.”

“Better not be,” Johnny grumbled as he rolled onto his side, “or you’re late for your appointment.”

“I already went.”

“What, alone?”

“You got in late, I didn’t want to wake you up.”

“V,” Johnny groaned, “stubborn bitch. Come here.”

“I’m already up.”

“Princess,” Johnny pushed the blanket away, smirking as V bit her lower lip as she looked over his chest, “come here.”

V didn’t protest again, undressing and climbing back into bed with him, letting him cover them both back up with the blanket.

“Don’t go to those appointments alone,” Johnny whispered against her hair, “we’re in it together.”

“Okay.”

“How’d it go?”

“Fine,” V kissed Johnny’s jaw, “said I’m adapting fine.”

“Good,” Johnny trailed his fingers down her spine.

“See Rogue last night?”

“Mmhmm.”

“How’d that go?”

“Weird, cause she looks old as fuck and I still look like I did the day I died. She kept giving me these guilty looks and she wouldn’t talk to me alone.”

“No marriage in your future?”

“Fuck no,” Johnny rolled V onto her back, “she’s fucking Arasaka.”

“You’re sure?”

“Can’t confirm it, but pretty sure,” Johnny had grown to love these mornings when they had nowhere to be and V would humor him and stay naked in the bed and let him just _touch_ her. The novelty hasn’t worn off yet, and the feeling of V’s skin under his fingertips that hadn’t yet callused from his guitar strings had become a new addiction.

They hadn’t put a name to it yet, not officially, but Johnny was content with what they had.

“What are you smiling about?”

“Woke up to the smell of pancakes,” Johnny kissed her, “and a total babe naked in my bed.”

“My bed,” V corrected, bringing their lips together with a firm grip on his hair

Johnny was going to make a smart comment but decided to instead focus on the feeling of V’s lips on his, the way she sighed and moaned as his hands travelled over the curve of her breasts.

“You drive me crazy,” Johnny kissed down V’s neck, avoiding the bio-chip, and brought his face level with her breasts.

“I can tell,” V carefully moved her leg, brushing against his cock as it twitched against her thigh.

“You have no idea how bad I want you,” Johnny sucked a bright hickey into the bottom of her breast, a vibrant mark of his possession.

“Come here,” V pulled him back up the bed, pushing him onto his back.

“Oh?” Johnny smiled up at her as she straddled his hips, “you gonna spoil me, princess?”

“Don’t I spoil you most mornings?”

“You do,” Johnny laughed, warm and affectionate, “one of my favorite parts of living with you.”

V rolled her eyes and kissed him again, rocking her hips gently as Johnny moaned against her lips.

“Sometimes I wish I could be in your head again,” Johnny whispered, “chick orgasms are _way_ better than what guys get.”

V smirked, “we should have kept going, I can sometimes get two or three in a row.”

“What, seriously?”

“Used to, want to see if I can again?”

Johnny studied her face for a moment, just to make sure he understood, “Vik said…”

“Life as normal,” V confirmed, “interested?”

“Fuck yeah, princess. If you are.”

V didn’t answer him with words, just moved with a smooth roll of her hips, reaching between them to angle him _just so_ as she slowly, and _carefully,_ sank onto his cock. It was a delightful sting, bordering on too much, but V and Johnny let out a combined sigh of relief.

Johnny opened his mouth, some stupid comment ready but stopped when V covered his mouth with her fingers.

“Don’t,” V whispered, “no jokes, no words, let’s just enjoy being one again, okay?”

Johnny nodded, kissing her fingers and relaxing against the bed.

Were it not for the fact that Johnny hadn’t touched anything harder than alcohol since he had gotten his proxy, he would have sworn that he was high on one of Kerry’s _special combinations_ with the way his body was tingling and it felt like time was standing still.

V was always beautiful, but the flush on her cheeks and the way they moved together almost seemed impossible. Only something that could have come from the deepest part of his imagination during his time trapped in Arasaka’s prison.

“Damn,” Johnny moaned as V started to clench around him, “Val.”

V’s movement stuttered for a moment, “what did you call me?”

“Valerie,” Johnny rolled them over, deepening his thrusts and increasing the speed, “ _my_ Valerie.”

Johnny wasn’t sure if it was the right thing to say, but the way that V started kissing him told him he was likely on the right track.

“Johnny,” V gasped, “ _harder_.”

Johnny heard the growl fall from his lips as he gripped V’s hip with one hand and finally gave in to the urge to take V the way he had wanted to for _weeks_.

Johnny said a silent prayer to a god he didn’t believe in when V finally fell over the edge only seconds before he followed right behind her. V’s back arching and her sharp nails scratching down his back.

Johnny collapsed down onto V, resting on her as she let out a wheeze at the weight.

“You’re heavy,” V shoved at his shoulder, “off.”

“No,” Johnny protested, but rolled them so they were on their sides, “you’re comfy.”

“Yeah, I love you too, Johnny.”

***

V knew it was only a matter of time, but it still hurt when it happened.

It had started as the odd night that Johnny didn’t come back to their place. Sometimes he would stumble in in the early hours of the morning, sometimes he would come back in a day or two later.

Johnny would do his best to cover up that he was wearing the same clothes that he had left in, the bags under his eyes, the lipstick stains on his clothes.

Gradually they talked less, sometimes going days without seeing each other and still not speaking when they were in the same room.

V made herself busy with various jobs in the city.

Johnny, well, he did what Johnny Silverhand did best.

***

V woke up to the sound of her phone ringing, grumbling as the call picked up, “V here.”

“V,” Johnny’s voice slurred over the line, “ _V_ , hey, princess.”

“What do you want, Johnny,” V ignored the way her entire chest ached at his voice.

“I think,” there was a pause and the sound of sirens in the background, “I took somethin’ I shouldn’t have. Think it might be spiked. Can you come?”

“Where are you?”

“Out with Kerry.”

“I figured you were out with Kerry,” V snapped as she stood and got dressed, “that’s where you always fuckin’ are. I need to know where you are in Night City.”

“Um,” V heard a distinctly female voice whisper the name of a club, “yeah, what she said.”

“On my way.”

“Thanks, V, you’re the best.”

“Fuck off, Silverhand.”

***

When V arrived at the club Johnny was waiting outside, mostly held up by the wall and the groupies that had surrounded him.

Her final sliver of patience snapped, stepping out of the car and drawing her gun, firing one shot straight into the air. She didn’t feel remotely bad when the girls surrounding him took off running.

“Hey, V.”

“Shut up,” V opened the back door of the car, “get in.”

“What, you don’t love me anymore?” Johnny staggered, only just caught by V who guided him into the backseat.

“Shut up, Silverhand,” V said softer, getting into the car and pulling into the traffic of Night City.


	6. Chapter 6

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Okay - done!
> 
> Thanks for all of your comments last night, sorry for any tears I caused.

Johnny was grateful to wake up in a dark room, and judging by the smell of shampoo coming from the pillow his face was pressed against, it was V’s bed.

Johnny rolled over, blinking his eyes so they came back into focus.

That when he realized that he had _epically fucked up_.

V was sitting on the couch, a bag beside her as she watched him with backlit eyes and smoked.

“Mornin’, princess,” Johnny tried for light, but V’s expression didn’t change.

“You know,” she spoke softly, but it lacked the warmth it normally had, “I was pretty fuckin’ convinced after I lost Jackie that I lost my whole heart with him. If you had told me that I was going to end up having feelings for a fucking Rockstar I would have laughed in your face.”

“V-“

“I wished I had listened when they fuckin’ warned me,” V took a shuddering breath, “wish I hadn’t been so fuckin’ stubborn to actually believe that you might change for me. I thought I was something special.”

“You are-“

“Don’t bullshit me, Johnny. You stormed Arasaka tower for Alt, you didn’t even make it two weeks before you were out clubbing, doing drugs, and acting like a fucking asshole after I saved your ass. Two fuckin’ weeks.”

V laughed, but there was no humor to it.

“I’m a gonk, I thought I meant something to you,” V put out her cigarette with more aggression than needed, “guess I shouldn’t be surprised that you broke my heart, Johnny. You’ve left a long line of broken women in your footsteps. I’m just one of many.”

V pulled the bag over her shoulder and started for the door.

“V, wait,” Johnny stumbled out of the bed, his balance still off from the night before, “hold your horses for a second. What’s got you so upset?”

“What’s got me so upset?” V turned on him, and the look in her eyes stopped him short, “the man that I went to _insane_ lengths to save because I _thought_ we cared about each other all but abandoned me within weeks of saving him. The man who _promised_ we would stick together doesn’t bother to come home most nights, or even fuckin’ call me. I know you think I’m naïve, Johnny, but _fuck you_ for using me like this.”

“V-“

V stormed out the door without another word, the door sliding shut behind her.

“Shit,” Johnny looked around the apartment, finding his clothes where V had folded them in the closet and rushing to pull them on, wincing as the shirt passed over his face smelling of alcohol, cigarettes, and cheap perfume.

By the time he made it to the garage the Arch was gone, a black tire line the only sign it had been there, and V’s desperation to get away from him.

Right, he needed a plan.

Johnny pulled out his phone as he headed back up to the apartment, trying V’s number.

It picked up for a second, the sound of the Arch roaring, then cut off again.

So he tried again, and again, always with the same result. 

_Fuck_ , right, a plan. Shower, change, go to Vik’s.

***

“Hey, Vik,” Johnny jogged down the steps, “is V here?”

“Johnny,” Vik stood, “just the man I wanted to see.”

“Yeah?”

It turned out that getting hit by Vik Vector was a lot like being hit in the face with a sledgehammer. Johnny barely had a second to register the change in Vik’s footing before his fist landed against Johnny’s temple and Johnny hit the ground.

He wasn’t sure how much time had passed, but when he came to Misty was leaning over him and brushing his hair from his face.

“Did you have to hit him, Vik?”

“Did you see V’s face when she came through?”

“I know, but still, she likes him.”

“Something tells me she’ll forgive me.”

“Can we get him off the floor, at least?”

“He’s where he should be, Misty. No one hurts V, not on my watch.”

“He’s adjusting, Vik.”

“He’s a piece of shit, Misty.”

Johnny groaned and rolled onto his back, rubbing at the side of his face that was screaming in pain, “I think you broke my tooth.”

“Hope so, I was tryin’ to,” Vik kept his eyes on the screen in front of him.

“Here,” Misty helped him up, “you should sit down for a few minutes. Last guy Vik knocked out needed to come in and have his skull fixed.”

“Guessin’ you saw V then,” Johnny accepted an ice pack from Misty and put it over his rapidly swelling eye, “Any idea where she’s headed?”

“Yep.”

“Will you tell me?”

“No,” Vik glared at him, “she needs a break from your shit, Silverhand. She only came here because she knew it would worry me if I heard she had taken off. You’re a dick for how you’ve treated her, Johnny. Any guy would be lucky to have a woman like that by his side.”

“I know,” Johnny winced as he moved the ice, “I fucked up.”

“You _are_ a fuck up, Johnny. That’s not an excuse to leave a wasteland of women behind you.”

“Vik,” Misty chastised him, “look. V’s hurt right now, and she needs some time away. She’ll come back when she’s ready.”

“How do you know that?”

“Because,” Misty hugged him and Johnny wondered when these people had become _his_ chooms, not just V’s, “V is the most forgiving and kind person I’ve ever met. She loves you, she just needs some time to be mad.”

“Is she safe?”

“She’s safer away from you,” Vik pointed out, “she can handle a gun just fine. Broken heart is something else.”

“God,” Johnny sighed, “I fucked up.”

“Yep,” Vik agreed, still not looking at him.

“Vik,” Johnny was pleading, “help me fix it. Please.”

“Give me one reason why I should.”

“I love her.”

Vik sighed, turning off the screen, “do you have any idea how you’re supposed to treat someone you love? You don’t call them high out of your mind surrounded by women, for one.”

“Then I’ll quit the drugs, Vik, shit, I’ll do whatever it takes.”

“You fuckin’ better, cause next time I won’t pull my punch.”

“Wait,” Johnny pulled away the icepack, waving to the already swollen-shut purple-bruised eye, “you pulled that punch?”

“Yep.”

“Shit, okay, tell me what to do.”

***

Johnny sat alone in the apartment, looking around the empty space and wishing that V was there.

Vik had been helpful in the end, giving him a list of the Fixer’s that V worked with, and their contact information.

Misty had spent the afternoon trying to explain what relationships should look like, and what V had been so upset about.

When the sun started to set, Johnny had headed back to the apartment and started his calls. Every Fixer in Night City knew that Johnny was looking for V, and for a fee, they had agreed to phone him if they got word that she had come through their area.

He had called Kerry next, both warning him that V might roll up looking for his head, and asking him to keep an eye out for her.

“I got to cut back, Kerry,” Johnny lit a cigarette, “drugs aren’t worth losing V over.”

“Getting old?”

“No,” Johnny sighed, “ _yes_. Kerry, she’s perfect for me.”

“I know she is,” Kerry smiled at him through the holo, “I get it. You want me to come over? I can bring some beers.”

“Not tonight,” Johnny went to the window at the sound of a bike roaring by the window, trying to see if he could see the Arch, “she comes home and finds you here, I’m dead.”

“What happened to your face?”

“Vik.”

“Shit, looks painful.”

“V’s like his daughter. I’m lucky he didn’t kill me.”

There was a knock at the door, and Johnny grabbed his gun as he went to answer it, opening it slowly and finding Misty outside.

“I brought you dinner,” Misty held up the carton of noodles, “can I come in?”

“Yeah,” Johnny stepped back to let her in, “call you later, Kerry.”

“See you.”

“So, dinner?”

“Vik asked me to,” Misty set the container on the table, “it’s back for proxys not to eat, he figured you would forget without V around.”

“I don’t think I’ve had something to eat since I went out with V last.”

“Johnny,” Misty sighed, making herself busy cleaning up the apartment as he started to eat, “and you wonder why she left?”

“I wish I knew where she was.”

“We’ll figure it out.”

***

“Hey, Mama Welles.”

“Mija,” Mama Welles looked at her through the holo, “are you okay?”

“Not really,” V leaned against the bike, “do you mind if I sleep in Jackie’s garage tonight? I promise I won’t move anything.”

“Don’t be silly, Mija. If you need a place to sleep you come to my house. I’ll take care of you.”

“I couldn’t want to impose.”

“Please, V,” Mama Welles rolled her eyes, “we’re family.”

“Yeah, okay,” V climbed on the bike, “on my way.”

***

By the time the call had come in, Johnny had missed her. The Fixer had been nice enough to point in the direction of the Coyote, but V was gone when he arrived.

“Johnny Silverhand.”

Johnny looked around the bar and found an older woman looking at him, a frown on her face.

“Do I know you?”

“Mama Welles,” she beckoned for him to walk up to the bar, “Jackie’s mom.”

“Oh, hey,” Johnny took a seat at the bar, “you seen V recently?”

“Yes, she was staying at my house,” Mama Welles poured him a shot, “she left this morning once Padre let her know he had phoned you.”

“Shit,” Johnny downed the shot, “don’t suppose you’ll tell me where she’s headin’?”

“No,” Mama Welles laughed, “not after you broke her heart.”

“I’m trying to _fix_ what I did,” Johnny pulled out a cigarette, “and I’m always behind.”

“To love is to suffer, _mijo_.”

“I’m such a gonk,” Johnny sighed, “I’m sorry, by the way, about Jackie. V loved him a whole lot.”

“And Jackie loved her.”

“Sounds like it,” Johnny accepted the second shot, twisting the glass on the bar, “too bad he got pulled in with Dexter DeShawn. If he hadn’t, he could still be taking care of V instead of me fuckin’ shit up for her.”

“V told me what happened with the bio-chip,” Mama Welles took her shot and poured herself another, “you were one of my son’s heroes, Johnny. He would be happy to have you watching out for her.”

“If I ever find her again I’ll do my best to make Jackie proud. Thanks for the drinks,” Johnny stood, “I’m going to see if I can track her down.”

“The Badlands.”

“What?”

“That’s where she’s headed,” Mama Welles put the bottle back behind the bar.

“Why would you tell me that?”

“I can see you’ve got a good heart, mijo. Go find her.”

“Thanks, Mama Welles.”

“Go with god, Johnny.”

***

“Johnny,” Vik greeted when he called, “what’s up?”

“Any idea where V would go in the Badlands? Mama Welles told me she’s headed that way.”

“Mama Welles told you that?”

“Yeah, apparently I have a _good heart_.”

“Hmm,” Vik paused, “I can think of three options. The Aldecaldos, with Panam, back with her clan, wherever they are, or…”

“Or?”

“I think River lives out there.”

“Shit.”

***

With wishful thinking, Johnny tried the Aldecaldos camp, first. Pulling in just after midnight.

“She’s not here,” Panam called to him when he got out of the car.

“How do you know who I’m looking for?”

“V called me,” Panam pulled out a beer and slid it across the table, “sit.”

“I need to-“

“You _need_ to sit your ass down. She said she might come by in the morning, No point in rushing out now.”

Johnny sighed, but joined Panam at the table, “what do you know?”

“That you’re an asshole who hurts my friend.”

“Yep, sounds about right,” Johnny cracked the beer and held out his hand, “Johnny Silverhand.”

“Panam Palmer.”

***

“River?”

“Hey, stranger,” River greeted warmly, “long time no talk.”

“Yeah, sorry, been going through some shit.”

“Can I help?”

“Sort of head my heart broken,” V sighed, “mind if I crash on your couch tonight?”

“Of course, come on over and I’ll make you dinner.”

“Thanks, River.”

“No problem, V.”

***

“She was never coming here, was she?”

“Nope,” Panam leaned on the hood of the car, “she’s not ready to see you, I agreed to hold you up.”

“Shit,” Johnny groaned, “she’s with River, isn’t she?”

“Yep.”

Johnny kicked the wheel of the car, swearing as the pain shot up his leg.

“She’s not fucking him or anything, so relax,” Panam rolled her eyes at the display, “you could head out there, but she’ll likely be on the move by the time you arrive.”

“I’ll hear her bike though,” Johnny got into the car, “thanks for letting me crash here.”

“Good luck, you’ll need it.”

Panam watched Johnny pull away in a cloud of dust and picked up her phone, “V? He’s headed your way.”

***

Johnny didn’t want to admit that V might have had a point about the trailer park. The people were nice here, at least three families offering him breakfast as he asked for directions to River’s house.

“Johnny,” River greeted from his back step, “no guns, please. My niece and nephew are inside.”

“I left it in the car,” Johnny joined River by the step, “let me guess…”

“She’s gone, yeah.”

“Fuck,” Johnny kicked at the ground, “any idea where she’s going?”

“Yeah.”

“You going to tell me?”

“No. This pig doesn’t squeal.”

“I deserved that.”

“If V hadn’t asked me not to, I would have shot you on sight,” River shrugged, “you hungry?”

“Yeah.”

“Hang around for a bit, I’ll make you some eggs.”

***

“Gotta ask,” Johnny started, pushing his plate away.

“Nothin’ happened.”

Johnny felt some of the tension leave his shoulders.

“Don’t get me wrong, I offered. She said no.”

“Don’t blame you for offerin’, she’s amazing.”

“She looks healthier now too,” River poured himself another coffee, topping up Johnny’s cup, “so what are you going to do to fix this?”

“No fuckin’ clue.”

“Let’s figure it out.”

“Why would you help me?”

“Why have any of her friends helped you? We love V.”

***

V hid her bike behind the garbage cans in the alley coming into Vik’s clinic, slipping down the stairs quietly.

“Hey, kiddo.”

“Hey,” V immediately accepted the hug that Vik offered, “how’s it going?”

“Better for seeing you,” Vik turned her with a firm grip on her shoulder, “come on, let’s get you to my place before Johnny rolls in.”

***

Johnny got back to the apartment a day later, after spending some time trying to find what was left of V’s clan.

Johnny dropped onto the couch with a groan, trying V’s number again.

“V,” Johnny tried when the phone picked up, “ _please_. Princess, just talk to me.”

There was a click, and Johnny swore, dialing again.

“I’m not going to stop, V,” Johnny said quickly, “I’ve been to Panam’s, Heywood, hell, even River’s house. Talk to me, please.”

Johnny could hear her sigh, and the line disconnected again.

He reached for the pack of cigarettes in his pocket, finding it empty. As he ordered more from the vending machine, his phone started to ring.

“V?”

“Wakako,” the caller responded, “per our agreement, I wanted to tell you that V just left my parlor on Jig Jig street.”

“Where is she headed?”

“That was not part of our agreement,” Wakako answered, “I agreed to only tell you if she came by, she did, so I told you.”

“Thanks.”

Johnny walked onto Jig-Jig street half an hour later, Misty walking beside him.

“She likes the cherry trees near here,” Misty suggested, “maybe she’s relaxing there?”

“V doesn’t relax. She was on the street less than a week after being shot in the head.”

“True,” Misty took his arm and pulled him to a nearby food vendor, “she loves the burgers from here, maybe they’ve seen her.”

***

The chef had only agreed to talk to them after Johnny ordered a burger, which he had to admit was pretty good.

“Yeah, she was here about an hour ago.”

“Where was she headed, did she say?”

“Took the burger to go and eat under the tree, something about _“a big hit tonight”_ and needing her energy. She had more guns on her than normal, too. Serious ones. She was carrying a sniper rifle almost as tall as she is.”

“Come on, Johnny,” Misty stood, “let’s see if she’s still there.”

***

“Sorry, Johnny,” Misty leaned into the car when he dropped her off, “maybe tomorrow?”

“Yeah, maybe.”

“Don’t give up hope. The universe brought you together for a reason, things will work out, you’ll see.”

“Thanks, Misty. Tell Vik I say hi.”

“Will do.”

Johnny parked in the garage and walked up to the apartment in a daze, it was only once he sat down that he noticed things had been moved in his absence.

“V?” Johnny opened the gun-room door, finding that her stash of grenades was gone, along with the gun that River had given her and most of the ammo.

There were five fresh packs of cigarettes on the table, and a new record, along with some of the coffee he liked and a set of strings for his guitar.

“Shit,” Johnny looked over the apartment for a sign of a note, a message, _anything_ , before he called Vik, “she came back to the apartment, left me some stuff, and took the heavy-hitters from her collection. I’m worried.”

“Yeah, me too,” Vik sighed, “she’s been staying at my place for the past few days, whatever she’s got planned is big. She’s got Judy actin’ like a netrunner for her.”

“I’ll head over there now.”

“Don’t you dare,” Vik growled, “you distract Judy tonight and you could get them both killed. Look, I know this is gettin’ to you. I promise if she comes back tonight I’ll call you, okay?”

“Before she leaves again?”

“Yes, before she leaves again.”

“Thanks, Vik.”

“No problem, kiddo.”

***

Johnny woke to the sound of his phone ringing, groaning at the pain in his neck as he sat up on the couch.

“Yeah?”

“Johnny?”

“V?” Johnny breathed, “where are you?”

“I’m pretty sure I’m dyin’,” V’s voice sounded weak, “but I got a present for you. I’m sending you an address. Hurry up.”

“I’m coming.”

***

Johnny called Vik in the car, sending him the address. Johnny peeled into the docks and immediately recognized the area as where V had taken out Grayson.

It wasn’t hard to find the path that V had taken, the ground littered with shells and dead Arasaka workers.

“Hey.”

Johnny turned on his heel and found V leaning against a crate, one of her hands held tightly over her stomach and stained red from the bleeding.

“Shit, V,” Johnny dropped to his knees, trying to stop the bleeding.

“No time for that,” V pushed his hands away, “go take care of your present.”

“What present? V you’re bleeding out.”

“So be fast about it, turn around.”

Johnny turned, looking over his shoulder, “no fucking way.”

There, charred and on his knees, was the almost-dead Adam Smasher.

“Thought,” V winced as she tried to sit up, “you might want to take the last shot yourself.”

“I need to get you to a Ripper,” Johnny turned back to V, “come on.”

“Johnny, I just about died gettin’ to him, if you don’t kill him, I’m going to be even more pissed at you than I already am.”

Johnny reached for her gun, walking over to the charred corpse. He felt a momentary surge of relief as he saw Vik rush to V from the corner of his eye.

“Silverhand,” Smasher wheezed.

“Fuck you,” Johnny fired just one shot and turned back to V, any feeling of victory or vengeance muted as he watched Vik push an airhypo into V’s chest.

“Help me get her in the car,” Vik jacked into V’s port, “we need to get a move on.”

“Grab those shards,” V pointed a blood-soaked hand to a small pile of shards, “I need them.”

“V-“

“Johnny, for once in your fuckin’ life just _do what I say_.”

Johnny grabbed them, shoving them in his pocket before he carefully picked up V, and as quickly as he could, made his way back to the car.

***

“Sit _still,_ V.”

“It _hurts_.”

“Of course it fuckin’ hurts, kiddo, you’ve been shot six times,” Vik pulled some big machine over the chair, cutting off her shirt before lowering it to her stomach, “proxy or not, it hurts.”

“Design flaw.”

“Noted, now shut up.”

“V,” Johnny paced beside her, “what the fuck were you thinking? You saw how he wasted me.”

“I made you a promise, once,” V winced as Vik filled her with numbing agent, “that I would help you take him out. Now we’re even, and you can go off and fuck whoever you want. You kept your promise, I kept mine. Clean break.”

“I don’t want a break from you, V.”

“Really?” V laughed, “sure seems like you want to be around when you only call me when I’m saving your high ass surrounded by groupies.”

“V –“

“Shut up, both of you,” Vik watched the screen as the robot worked, “Misty, get him out of here.”

“I’m not going anywhere.”

“Johnny,” Misty pulled him over to the couch, “let Vik work.”

“How are you holdin’ up, kiddo?”

V didn’t answer, just shook her head and closed her eyes. Johnny didn’t miss the way the tears escaped the corner of her eyes.

Vik rolled his chair closer to her, brushing the hair from her face and whispering to her softer than Johnny could hear.

“He’s on your side,” Misty whispered to him, “but let him work, okay?”

***

“Alright, Johnny, you can take her home,” Vik passed V a shirt to carefully pull over her head after he had finished bandaging her side, “no getting shot for a few days, just take it easy, okay?”

“Yeah, thanks, Vik.”

“Misty will bring you the wheelchair.”

“Thanks.”

V didn’t speak as Johnny slowly wheeled her back to the apartment, and Johnny spent his time wondering where to begin. The elevator ride was awkward as V watched the TV screens rather than looking at Johnny.

“Come on,” Johnny stopped the wheelchair near the bed, “let me help you.”

V wrapped her arm over his shoulders and let him help her into the bed wrapping her arm over her bandage for support as he lowered her down.

“I can’t believe you took out Smasher.”

“Technically, you took out Smasher.”

V sighed and rolled onto her side, looking away from Johnny.

“I’ve driven all over Night City looking for you,” Johnny whispered, “I met Mama Welles, Panam, River, even Wakako.”

“Congratulations.”

“V, come on.”

“Shut up, Johnny.”

“V, I want to talk about this.”

“Johnny, I’m tired okay? I don’t know what hurts more, my side or seeing your face. Please just let me rest, alright?”

“Will you give me a chance to talk to you before you delta again?”

“Will you _shut up_ if I say yes?”

“Only if you mean it.”

“Tomorrow.”

“Okay,” Johnny reached for her shoes, gently pulling them from her feet before he moved to the couch, lighting a smoke.

Even in the dark room, he could make out the stark white of her bandages against her skin, the way each breath looked painful as her ribs moved.

He wished, desperately, that she wasn’t hurt, but he was _so relieved_ that she was back in the apartment.

“Did you bring those shards?”

Johnny jumped at her voice, “Yeah, why?”

“They’re Rogue’s deal with Arasaka. Thought you might want to see them.”

“Shit,” Johnny pulled them from his pocket, “really?”

“I’ve never lied to you before, not going to start now.”

Johnny wasn’t used to the idea of slotting chips in, but after a minute he managed to find the slot and review the information.

There was _a lot_ of information. Most sickening of which was the fact that Rogue _knew_ he had been captured, and she _knew_ about the engram, and Arasaka paid her to keep her mouth shut.

And she _fuckin’ did_.

“Fuck,” Johnny groaned and rubbed his face as he pulled the last shard out, tossing it on the table.

“You okay?”

“I knew she was ruthless, but I thought she was a friend.”

“I know you did,” V shifted on the bed, “I thought you should know.”

“Thanks, V.”

“You’re welcome.”

Johnny toed off his boots, leaning back on the couch his chest feeling heavier than it had in years.

“Johnny?”

“Yeah?”

“Come to bed.”

“You sure?”

“Yeah.”

Johnny pulled off his pants and shirt, carefully crawling over V and settling on the bed behind her, pressing a kiss to her exposed shoulder.

“I’m glad you’re home.”

“Me too.”

**

V was still asleep the next morning, so Johnny slipped from the apartment and stopped by Vik’s clinic.

“How is she?”

“Sleeping,” Johnny leaned against the desk, “does she need any meds, bandages?”

“I’ll give you some, just in case. Soak the bandages off this morning, shower whatever, and if any of them are still open put some of this cream on them and re-wrap.”

“Will do.”

“You guys talk it out yet?”

“No, she was exhausted last night.”

“Be honest with her,” Vik pat him on the shoulder, “or I’ll knock you out again.”

***

Johnny grabbed breakfast and headed back, hanging up on Kerry when he called and making his way up to the apartment.

V was awake and struggling to stand from the bed as Johnny rushed to put down the food and help her.

“I don’t think the nurse is meant to leave, Silverhand.”

“I went to Vik’s, picked up your meds and some breakfast. Come on, sit down and eat, and then we’ll take care of the bandages.”

“I need to call River.”

“Why?”

“He was the one that bated Smasher out for me, fed Arasaka a fake threat through the official channels, that’s how I got Smasher away from the tower.”

“Hang tight, I’ll do it.”

Johnny helped V to the couch, sitting her down comfortably and setting her food in front of her. Once she started eating, he called River.

“Johnny,” River’s voice came over the holo, “okay?”

“V wanted to talk to you,” Johnny pulled V into the call.

“Did it go okay?”

“Perfect, thanks,” V grabbed a piece of bacon, popping it into her mouth, “I got shot up pretty good, but Johnny and Vik came to my rescue.”

“Everything alright?”

“I’ll be fine.”

“Did you need me to come down?”

“I’m here,” Johnny cut in, “I’ll take care of her.”

“Call me if you need anything, alright?”

“You know it, Smasher is out of the way if you want to do anything with that information.”

“Thanks, V.”

“Later, River.”

***

“Come on,” Johnny helped her to stand, “shower.”

“I don’t think so, Rockstar.”

“I’m not tryin’ to start anything,” Johnny fought the urge to argue, “I’m doing what Vik said.”

“Sure.”

“I went to see him this morning, where did you think the bandages come from?”

“Didn’t think you cared.”

“Why,” Johnny felt his temper slip out of control, “why the fuck wouldn’t I care?”

“I don’t know, why don’t we ask the women who helped you out of the club last week?”

“Christ, V,” Johnny led her to the bathroom, turning on the shower, “it’s 2077, are you seriously telling me there is no…mobile lie detector…or something?”

“Sure there is if I hack into your port.”

“Okay, after the shower you can jack in and we’ll talk. Bandages first.”

V studied his face for a minute, “You’re going to let me jack in?”

“ _Yes_ , now would you stop being _such a fuckin’ bitch_ and let me help you?”

“Fine.”

***

Johnny felt awful as soon as he saw the bruises and wounds come into view, “shit, V.”

“Yeah, he was _really_ hard to kill.”

“I know,” Johnny gently washed the blood from her skin, “I shot him in the head, twice, and he still managed to waste me.”

“Turns out grenades are pretty effective.”

Johnny snorted, “looked like it.”

“I’m a badass.”

“You sure are.”

***

“So how do we do this?” Johnny sat next to V on the bed once she was bandaged and dressed in one of his shirts.

“You sure you want to? You won’t be able to lie to me if you do.”

“That’s the fuckin’ point.”

V pulled out her jack, gently brushing his hair back from the port and jacking in. Johnny was more than slightly pleased that she kept her hand on his shoulder.

“How do we start?”

“We should calibrate it, tell me a lie.”

“My name is Johnny Silverhand.”

V frowned, “lie…what’s your name?”

“Robert John Linder.”

“Robert?” V snorted.

“Shut up, we’re calibrating it.”

“Consider our connection calibrated.”

“I haven’t fucked _anyone_ but you since I came back. True or false?”

“True,” V said after a minute had passed.

“I haven’t even kissed someone else since I came back.”

“Also true.”

“I’m a piece of shit who took things too far a couple of nights with my friends.”

“I didn’t need to jack in to know that, Johnny.”

“Fine, stubborn bitch.”

“Didn’t lie there, either. Fuck you, too.”

“I love you,” Johnny said suddenly, cupping V’s cheek, “and I will burn all of Night City to the ground if you want me to prove that to you.”

“You know you can love someone and not be _in_ love with them, right? I love Vik, you love Kerry.”

“And I’m _in love_ with you.”

V’s eyes softened.

“Did I lie?”

“No,” V pulled her jack, reaching for Johnny’s wrist, “your turn.”

“V-“

“It goes both ways, Johnny. You said yourself you wanted back in my head.”

Johnny let V guide the jack, watching as a screen pulled up in his vision.

“My name is V.”

There was a red caution triangle in the bottle of his vision, “lie.”

“My name is Valerie, but I hate it.”

“True.”

“I don’t expect you to be perfect.”

“True.”

“I do expect you to _respect me_.”

“True.”

“I am hopelessly in love with you, Robert.”

“…true.”

“Robert John Linder is a stupid name.”

“Now you’re just being mean.”

“Yeah, well you broke my heart the other day, so now we’re even.”

“Lie.”

“You did break my heart.”

“True.”

“I’m not over it, yet.”

“Also, true.” Johnny pulled the jack, “I miss being in your head, but I like to think you’ll be honest with me, princess.”

“Stop leaving me behind, okay?”

“Okay,” Johnny kissed her forehead, “what now?”

“We lay down, catch up, and make a plan.”

***

“V?”

“Hmm?” V rolled, wrapping her arm over his waist and going back to sleep.

“V, it’s important, wake up.”

“No.”

“Do you know what today is?”

“Friday.”

“A month since we got into our proxys.”

“Happy anniversary,” V’s eyes fluttered open, “and?”

“You told me that I had one month, right? To make up my mind?”

“You offered to burn Night City last night, I thought that was you making up your mind.”

“Woman,” Johnny groaned, brushing her hair from her eyes, “I’m _tryin’ to be romantic_.”

“Sorry, go ahead.”

“You ruined it.”

“Johnny,” V rolled her eyes, “come on.”

“I love you, princess.”

“I love you, too.”

“I don’t know where life is going to take us, but I know you’re it for me.”

V smiled, “yeah?”

“Yeah.”

V kissed him, and Johnny was so _relieved_ at the sensation that the moan that fell from his lips was more than a little desperate. V smiled against his lips, and Johnny carefully pulled her closer, mindful of the bandages.

“Johnny,” V tugged at his boxers, “I want you.”

Johnny rolled her onto her back, palming her breasts through his shirt, “you’re sure you feel up to it?”

“Johnny…”

“Okay, I’ve got you, princess.”

Johnny kissed her gently, trying to show her without words how much he had been missing her while she was gone. V met his energy kiss for kiss, pushing his boxers from his hips and pulling him more firmly over top of her.

“Careful,” Johnny gently pulled his shirt over her head, pausing as he took in a new tattoo on the bottom of her breast.

He had assumed it was a bruise when had seen it the night before, but as he looked closer he found that the bright red mark was a tiny heart. As he looked at it closer, he found it was actually a tiny _broken_ heart, right where he had left his mark the first time they were together.

“Princess,” Johnny kissed the tattoo, “I’m sorry.”

“I know,” V stroked his hair, “now show me.”

Johnny was proud to say that he was a decent lover, but something about V made him feel fragile as he kissed down her body to rest between her legs.

“I was starting to wonder if you knew how to do this.”

Johnny chuckled, “oh, I know how.”

Johnny spent the rest of the morning showing her how _well_ he knew how to do this. Tasting her gently until she wrapped her legs around his head in a crushing grip and called out his name as she shook through the force of what looked to be a _pretty fuckin’ good_ orgasm.

“Christ, Johnny,” V tried to catch her breath, “get your ass up here.”

“I don’t know, princess, I’m having fun down here.”

V tangled her fingers in his hair, pulling, hard, until he moved back up the bed, “inside of me, _now_.”

Johnny kissed her as he rolled his hips, sinking inside of her in one smooth roll.

 _Shit_ , Johnny was suddenly aware how long it had been, _take it slow_.

What had started as an attempt to last long enough for V to come first changed the mood as they moved together. It wasn’t frantic, it was slow and _passionate_ , and Johnny kissed her _everywhere_. Sucking bright bruises into her skin, focusing on the little tattoo, and sucking a mark that turned the broken heart whole again.

V almost sounded surprised when she called out his name and came around his cock. Johnny could admit he was just as surprised when he came a few seconds later, once of the best orgasms he could remember having, despite how slow the sex had been.

Johnny dropped down onto his side beside her, mindful of the bandages across her side.

“Holy shit,” V laughed, “you’re good at that.”

Johnny was going to make a joke about lots of practice but thought better of it, “we should go and get Vik to check you out soon.”

“I should shower, first. Seems rude to show up to an appointment stinking of sex.”

***

“Hey, you two,” Vik greeted warmly but V didn’t miss how his eyes flicked between them, “how are you this afternoon?”

“Good,” Johnny sat on the couch while V hopped up on the chair.

“Let’s unwrap you, see how you’re healing.”

Vik and V both froze as the various love bites came into view when V pulled off her shirt.

“Well,” Vik cleared his throat, “glad you kids made up.”

***

“So what now, princess?”

“Well,” V pulled out two cigarettes, lighting them both, and passing one to Johnny, “way I see it, we dealt with Grayson, Smasher, just one asshole left that decided to betray you.”

“Rogue?”

“You got it,” V leaned against the wall, “think it’s time Afterlife got a new queen, don’t you?”

“Might be onto something there, V.”

***

Night City had been prepared for a lot of things, but Johnny Silverhand and V together was not one of them.

It had taken them all of a month to knock Rogue from her throne. A careful leak of the shards V had found had started the rumors. Once V was confident the information had spread, there had been no one willing to defend her when V had marched into Afterlife and pressed a gun to Rogue’s temple.

“Time to go,” V smirked when Rogue realized she was alone, “Arasaka’s got no place in Night City, and no place in Afterlife.”

“Where am I going to go, V?”

“Don’t give a shit, you crossed Johnny, left him _fifty years_ to rot with Arasaka. You either leave Night City tonight in your car, or you’re leaving in a casket. Your choice.”

“My son-“

“Better hurry up then,” V said loud enough for the club to hear, “because I put a 50,000 eddy contract on you, starting tomorrow morning.”

“V-“

“Chop chop, _your majesty_.”

“Johnny-“

“You heard her.”

Rogue stood, looking to her ever-present bodyguard who turned to look at V.

“Can I get you a drink, V?”

“Sure,” V took Rogue’s seat, gun still in hand, “Johnny?”

“Claire knows my order,” Johnny sat next to V, arm over her shoulder, “don’t you got some bags to pack?”

Rogue stormed from the club, and when the doors slid shut, there was a collective cheer.

Claire had declared a toast, “to the new queen of the Afterlife.”

“To the queen,” Johnny held up his drink, downing it in one go and kissing V in front of the entire club.

***

“Kerry, I will hire every merc in this city if it means that you aren’t late to your recording sessions.”

Johnny laughed as V pulled Kerry in by his ear, pushing him into one of the chairs in the studio, “hey, Kerry.”

“Get your woman to unhand me.”

V slapped Kerry, not hard, just enough that he looked offended, “this was your idea, Ker. You don’t get to hold up the album.”

“Johnny was only on time because of you.”

“Yep,” Johnny kissed V as she walked over, “time to settle down, Kerry.”

“With who?”

“Vik?” V suggested, “he’s been asking about you.”

“Vik has?” Kerry pulled his guitar from the wall, “really?”

“I’ll set you up,” V took her usual seat by Johnny in the studio.

“Hey V, what’s your last name?”

V turned to Bes, “don’t have one, why?”

“Johnny wants you on the record as band manager, I didn’t want to put you down as just _V_.”

“Nomads go by their clan name, so it was Bakker, but that clan is gone now,” V shrugged, “so I’m just V.”

“Silverhand.”

Bes and V turned to face Johnny, “what?”

“Put her down as V Silverhand,” Johnny kept tuning his guitar, “we’re practically married anyway, might as well make it official.”

“Babe?”

“Yeah, princess?”

“Did you just fuckin’ propose? In the _least_ romantic way I could possibly think of, without even looking at me?”

“Guess so,” Johnny glanced up, “you sayin’ yes?”

“Obviously.”


End file.
